Staff Reporter
Deputy President David Mabuza is expected to visit the Free State this Friday to assess the province’s readiness to tackle the spread of the coronavirus under alert Level 3 of the risk-adjusted approach to easing the nationwide lockdown.
He will visit the provincial Health Command Centre at Bophelo House and Universitas Hospital in Bloemfontein.
He will also address newly recruited nurses and social workers employed to support the implementation of the provincial coronavirus response plan.
A statement issued by the Presidency said the visit to Mangaung is as a result of the decision by the National Coronavirus Command Council that President Cyril Ramaphosa and is deputy, Mabuza, should assess the state of readiness of all provinces in terms of functionality of provincial and district coronavirus response structures.
“The Free State visit is a continuation of the work of government to flatten the curve and save lives,” read part of the announcement.
“The deputy president visits Mangaung as the epicentre of the coronavirus infections in the Free State province,” it added.
Mabuza will also check the state of readiness of provincial health infrastructure in responding to the coronavirus pandemic and the extent of the reach of economic and social coronavirus relief measures to those that these interventions are intended for.
Universitas Hospital has been designated as the provincial centre for isolation and treatment of people infected with coronavirus.