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Gauteng Didn’t Prepare Properly – MAC Chair

An ambulance is parked near tents erected at the parking lot of the Steven Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, January 11, 2021.

The Gauteng government failed to prepare properly for the third wave, which is why it is in the current crisis.

This is according to the co-chair of the COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee, Professor Koleka Mlisana. 

Gauteng is bearing the brunt of the third wave, with nearly 11,000 infections recorded in 24-hours.

Some hospitals are already at capacity, and the third wave has not peaked yet.

Meanwhile, Professor Rudo Mathivha, of Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, says the deployment of the South African National Defence Force is a joke.

A total of 280 SANDF members have been made available until the end of September to help in Gauteng’s COVID-19 fight.

Mathivha says it won’t help much and that the continued closure of Charlotte Maxeke Hospital is exacerbating the crisis.

The Gauteng Coronavirus Council is set to host a briefing on Thursday.

South Africa has recorded 17,493 new COVID-19 cases.

The NICD said 166 more COVID-19 related deaths bring SA’s death toll to 59,258.

Gauteng continues to account for the majority of infections, with 10,806 cases in the last 24 hours.

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