WHO coronavirus team to help South Africa cope with massive health crisis

Name: Coronavirus: South Africa becomes continent’s clear leader in Covid-19 infections
Uploaded: 2020-08-05T21:00:14.000Z
Duration: 1 min 58 s
Description: Coronavirus: South Africa becomes continent’s clear leader in Covid-19 infections

Dozens of specialists from around the world will advise on strategy to contain Africa’s biggest Covid-19 emergency

Spike in infections in the country could herald a surge in cases elsewhere on the continent, top WHO official warns

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Covid-19 patients are treated with oxygen at the Tshwane District Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, in early July. Photo: AP

Jevans Nyabiage

Published: 5:00am, 6 Aug 2020Updated: 10:13pm, 6 Aug 2020

The World Health Organisation’s health emergencies chief will head an expert team helping South Africa tackle the biggest coronavirus crisis on the continent.

South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday that the WHO’s Mike Ryan and epidemiologist David Heymann would be among the 43 specialists from around the world taking part in the effort to contain the disease that has already infected more than 520,000 South Africans, including more than 24,000 health workers. South Africa’s population is about 58 million.

“Dr Mike Ryan will lead the team from Geneva and will … provide us with constant advice while analysing our strategies, including the decisions we have taken as the Department of Health in our Covid-19 response,” Mkhize said.

He said the first 17 experts were expected to arrive in South Africa on Wednesday and would complete a period of quarantine before being deployed across various provinces.

“We see this as a great opportunity not only to improve our health strategies during this pandemic, but also to accelerate our path towards health care reform,” Mkhize said.

01:58

Coronavirus: South Africa becomes continent’s clear leader in Covid-19 infections

South Africa is the most affected country in Africa, accounting for more than half of all cases so far recorded on the continent. Africa is nearing 1 million coronavirus cases, amid warnings that the number of patients will overwhelm hospitals in countries with fragile health systems.