By: Nosipho Haya-Komisa
The Eastern Cape Department of Health is expected to deploy a group of twenty Cuban doctors to various areas in the province.
This is after the provincial government welcomed the Cuban doctors in a ceremony held at the Frere hospital’s Resource Centre in East London yesterday.
The team of doctors has been deployed by the national Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize to bolster the province’s fight against the spread of COVID-19.
The medical experts will be deployed in hotspots of COVID-19 in the province.
Welcoming the doctors, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane said all the medical staff who are in the frontline in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 will be protected.
“As the Eastern Cape government, we are making sure that there is enough personal protective equipment so that our medical staff who have been in this fight are protected at all material times.”
Mabuyane further said that plans are in place to ensure that the spread of COVID-19 is contained in the province.
“We have also embarked on mass screening and testing of people as we want to know exactly how many people have been infected in the province,” said Mabuyane.
Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba said some of the doctors will be deployed in hotspot areas of the province.
“You will recall these statistics that Nelson Mandela is the highest followed by Buffalo City and we are wanting not to leave out Chris Hani because it has potential nor leave out OR Tambo whilst we are going to look at other areas,” said Gomba.
The Eastern Cape ha recorded 1936 positive cases with 35 deaths so far as of yesterday.