Eastern Cape premier raises alarm over possible shortage of N95 masks for health workers

The Eastern Cape is struggling to source N95 masks for its frontline health workers and has asked the national Department of Health to assist, Premier Oscar Mabuyane said on Monday 13 July.

He said they had about one to two weeks’ of stock of other personal protective equipment and were monitoring the situation. 

Mabuyane did not announce any further developments in the construction of field hospitals for the province, which was predicted to reach a peak number of infections by the last week in July. The province has a single field hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay that was funded by the German government and Volkswagen in a joint project with the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber and the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality.

The chairperson of the health committee in the Eastern Cape legislature, Mxolisi Dimaza, said they would meet the Department of Public Works on Wednesday 15 July as they wanted field hospitals to be set up in renovated government buildings, but the Department of Health has put out a tender for tent hospitals and alternative building solutions.

“Stock levels in our hospitals have shown improvement; bulk orders for gloves, gowns, sanitisers, and three-ply masks have been placed. Health institutions have been instructed to place emergency orders with the depots for aprons, gowns, masks and disinfectants. We have a challenge with sourcing N95 masks and examination gloves and we have engaged the National Department of Health in this regard.”

N95 masks are considered as the safest of the face masks for frontline workers as they filter 95% of airborne particles. Doctors working in public hospitals said on Monday that they had been given another type of mask, made in China, that was not working well. 

“We have some N95 masks that were donated and we are saving them for when we need to do high-risk procedures,” one doctor said.

Another added that at Livingstone Hospital, one of three Covid-19 hospitals in the province, the department still hadn’t appointed the promised 100 general assistants, and doctors are now wheeling patients to operating theatres and to the wards while rubbish has been piling up in the hospital passages.

Mabuyane said more than 2,285 health workers in the province had tested positive for Covid-19 and 28 had died.

“Of the infected healthcare workers, 34% are nurses, 2.2% are doctors, and 57% are employed in other categories in the health sector, and the remaining percentage is unspecified.” 

He added that Tuesday 14 July marked the 120th day since the first person in the Eastern Cape had tested positive for coronavirus. 

“The next two months will be critical for our survival,” he said.

He said the province had shown an improved recovery rate and now had recoveries in 66% of cases. 

“We view this development as a significant improvement because the recovery rate has largely ranged between 53% to 57% during Alert Level 3 of the national lockdown.

“As of yesterday, we have 52,058 people infected with the virus in our province, and sadly 709 people have passed away because of Covid-19 related illnesses. Among the departed is Her Majesty Queen Noloyiso Sandile of the AmaRharhabe Kingdom, whom we laid to rest on Sunday under the strict Covid-19 regulations that allow only 50 people to attend funerals. 

Mabuyane announced that the Development Bank of Southern Africa had provided PPE for screening and testing units, assistance with improved testing and diagnostic services of sick patients,120 specialised isolation cubicles with beds and ventilation systems, as well as ventilators. He said rural hospitals would benefit from these services.