Zweli Mkhize receives ventilator machines donated to SA by the US

Health minister Zweli Mkhize will on Saturday receive ventilator machines donated to SA by the US to help in the fight against Covid-19.

The Western Cape has shifted to using high-flow nasal oxygen treatment on Covid-19 patients after the first six patients placed on ventilators died at Tygerberg hospital in Cape Town.

Head of the provincial department of health Dr Keith Cloete explained the shift in strategy during a virtual press briefing on Thursday.

Ventilators were used as one of the main treatments for critical care Covid-19 patients during the initial phases of the global pandemic, but the experience from Tygerberg hospital prompted a rethink.