With new COVID-19 strain hospitals in South Africa struggles with capacity constraints

“This dramatic increase in numbers within the Western Cape has placed very heavy strain on available healthcare resources including staff, equipment and available beds to provide intensive treatment for seriously ill patients."

With COVID-19 surging cases in South Africa, the health facilities are laboring with capacity constraints, said South Africa's Mediclinic International, according to a report by Biz News.

As said by Gerrit de Villiers, a group general manager, the patients who are seeking health intervention within Mediclinic hospitals are exceeding the previously infected numbers in the first peak. The company reportedly added that in many medicilinic hospitals' intensive care and high care units have outreached the capacity. As the number of patients had climbed to 500 admissions rising from 100 in the month across Western Cape.

It added, “this dramatic increase in numbers within the Western Cape has placed very heavy strain on available healthcare resources including staff, equipment and available beds to provide intensive treatment for seriously ill patients". The group has canceled its Elective or non-emergency surgery, as per the report.

The group, as reported is increasing beds availability to patients infected with COVID-19 and reallocating resources.

With the latest data on COVID-19, South Africa has conducted a total of 6,140,839 tests, with 921,922 identified positive cases, and 793,914 recoveries while over 24,691 people have succumbed to the pandemic, according to South Africa Health Ministry. However, the government has reportedly announced a new COVID-19 strain in the country.