As South Africans prepare to go to level 3 and ease many of the lockdown restrictions, a flurry of comments in support and statements of opposition has flooded formal and social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There seems to be mainly two camps of commentators. Those opposing the lockdown and calling for the immediate reopening of the economy and those in support for prolonging the lockdown in preparation for what could be a steep rise of Covid-19 infections in the winter months ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both arguments have validity. The economy is severely strained and we already see the increased number of people needing local soup kitchens. Poverty levels are expected to soar if immediate mitigating factors are not put into place. The strain on our health system is, however, of great concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Western Cape, the number of people receiving care in ICU wards (for Covid-19) has risen to 143 in both public and private facilities last week. Currently, the public health sector only has 150 ICU beds available. There are plans to increase this number by 100 beds, with another 300 beds being provided by the private sector. But the provincial health authorities have not indicated when these beds will be available and how the current ICU numbers are impacting patients in need of ICU care that is not related to Covid-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Government should now act quickly to prepare our health system for the worst case scenario in terms of Covid-19 infections while allowing South Africans to return to work in a responsible manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both can be accomplished, but in order to do so, government should stop treating its residents like children and start building partnerships of trust. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As South Africans prepare to go to level 3 and ease many of the lockdown restrictions, a flurry of comments in support and statements of opposition has flooded formal and social 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