SA is on stage five out of eight in dealing with Covid-19, says Mkhize
SA is now in stage five of an eight-stage programme to manage the Covid-19 pandemic, health minister Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday.
Stage 5 deals with surveillance to identify and intervene in hotspots, spatial monitoring of new cases and investigation of outbreaks.
As at Tuesday evening, SA had registered 17,200 cases of Covid-19 and recorded 312 deaths, with 7,960 recoveries.
The country's plan to combat the pandemic was outlined in an eight-stage programme that was revealed by the chair of the ministerial advisory group on Covid-19, Prof Salim Abdool Karim, last month when SA was on stage 4.
According to the plan, the first four stages are:
Stage 1: Preparation
- Community education
- Establishing lab capacity
- Surveillance
Stage 2: Primary prevention
- Social distancing and handwashing
- Closing schools and reduced gathering
- Close the borders to international travel
Stage 3: Lockdown
- Intensifying curtailment of human interaction
Stage 4: Surveillance and active case-finding
- The community response: door-to-door screening, testing, isolation and contact tracing
On Tuesday, Mkhize said SA was in stage 5 and also focusing on stages 6, 7 and 8.
We are currently in stage 5 of managing the pandemic. We are currently dealing with hotspots and focusing on 6,7,8. #EditorsBriefing pic.twitter.com/YzqlLC0EbN
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) May 19, 2020
Stage 5: identify and intervene in hotspots, spatial monitoring of new cases and investigation of outbreaks.
Stage 6: Medical care (for the peak)
- Surveillance on caseload and capacity
- Managing staff exposures and infections
- Building field hospitals for triage
- Expand ICU bed and ventilator numbers
Stage 7: Bereavement and the aftermath
- Expanding burial capacity
- Regulations on funerals
- Managing psychological and social impact
Stage 8: Ongoing vigilance
- Administer vaccines, if available
- Ongoing surveillance for new cases.