By Nosipho Haya-Komisa.
National Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has handed over about one hundred motorbikes to the Eastern Cape Department of Health in a ceremony held in East London Call Centre earlier today.
Dr Mkhize has been in the province for about three days to monitor the response of the Eastern Cape health department to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On his last leg of the visit he launched a scooter program that will assist the department to enhance the fight in the province.
The motorbikes will work as emergency vehicles in rural areas as they will transport patients and deliver medicine to rural areas.
Speaking at the ceremony, Eastern Cape Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba, said they came up with the initiative of using scooters to transport and deliver medication to people who desperately need medical attention because sometimes it is difficult for their ambulances to reach some rural areas especially when it rains.
“These are not your ordinary scooters, they are specialised and have beds. We are introducing the use of scooters because for far too long our ambulances could not get to people in far-flung rural areas”, said Gomba.
MEC Gomba added that she understands that her department has its own challenges but that is not going to stop her from giving people who are from hinterlands effective and efficient health care services.
“We want everyone to have access to medical care, the department has its fair share of challenges, that much we acknowledge, but getting to people regardless of their location should not be one of them” Gomba.
The Eastern Cape cases of COVID-19 continue to rise and as of last night we had 7868 confirmed cases, 3647 recoveries and 178 deaths.