The health system measures put into place in South Africa to contain the spread of COVID-19 are:
1) An amount of R20 billion will be directed to addressing our efforts to address the pandemic.
2) Additional funding of R20 billion will therefore be made available to municipalities for the provision of emergency water supply, increased sanitisation of public transport and facilities, and providing food and shelter for the homeless.
i. National state of disaster declared on the 15th of March allowing to mobilise resources and personnel. R446 million has been allocated through disaster funds mainly for personal protective equipment for health workers.
ii. A Multisector National Outbreak Response team (MNORT) has been set up, responsible for tracking and tracing outbreaks around the world, monitoring and analysis of developments, advising all relevant authorities on the country response to the outbreak and ensuring the preparedness.
iii. Gatherings of more than 100 people are prohibited, mass gatherings are to be cancelled.
iv. Visits to all correctional services institutions are closed for 30 days.
v. Guidance distributed to health professionals
vi. This nationwide lockdown will be accompanied by a public health management programme which will significantly increase screening, testing, contact tracing and medical management.
vii. Community health teams will focus on expanding screening and testing where people live, focusing first on high-density and high-risk areas.
viii. To ensure that hospitals are not overwhelmed, a system will be put in place for ‘centralised patient management’ for severe cases and ‘decentralised primary care’ for mild cases.
The published information can be found here
