Staff Reporter
Free State Health MEC Montseng Tsiu believes the stringent measures implemented by her department have helped the province avoid a potential COVID-19 catastrophe.
The province came under the spotlight in March after five overseas guests who attended a religious conference at the Devine Restoration Ministries in Bloemfontein tested positive for COVID-19.
This prompted the provincial health authorities to launch a massive exercise to trace the over 200 people who attended the conference and their immediate contacts.
Several religious leaders and some members eventually tested positive and were isolated for treatment.
At about the same time, a woman who works for a private hospital also tested positive and it was feared her two children who go to Brandwag Primary School could have been infected and, in turn, transmitted the disease to other learners.
There was a massive screening exercise at the school and the initially suspected pair tested negative, thereby allaying any fears of the disease at the school.
“We are doing well in the province to contain what was meant to be a COVID-19 catastrophe,” said Tsiu in a statement released Tuesday to celebrate the International Day of the Midwives.
“We are yielding good results and thanks to the contributions of all health workers and everyone in our society. We are managing to flatten the curve through an activist approach to this virus,” she added.
Tsiu said the provincial health department was pleased that the brave policy position they had taken was yielding results.
“Our midwives are unlikely to be easily affected by COVID-19 as we are insisting on screening all patients in our health facilities and consistently taking temperatures of all our health professionals and health workers in general,” said the MEC.
Tsiu said as a nurse herself she recognised the sacrifices of nurses, midwives, technicians, paramedics, pharmacists, porters, security, kitchen staff, doctors, community health workers, drivers, cleaners, administrators and many others working to keep everyone safe.
“Under difficult circumstances our health workers work around the clock, putting their lives at risk, to fight the ravages of many known infectious illnesses including the lesser known but devastating COVID-19 pandemic. The midwives are at the coal face of this lesser known virus,” she said.
The province now has 126 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 112 of them coming from Bloemfontein in the Mangaung Metro.
Boshoff in Lejweleputswa District has two cases while Kroonstad in Fezile Dabi has three.
In Thabo Mofutsanyana District, Harrismith has recorded four cases, Ladybrand three and Senekal one.
Petrusburg in Xhariep has one.
Six people have succumbed to the disease and there have been 96 recoveries in the Free State.
A total of 794 049 people have been screened in a massive exercise carried out across the province, while at least 9 152 have been tested.