The South African Medical Association (Sama), in a statement released on the weekend, said focusing on strengthening health facilities and vaccinating healthcare workers is a more sensible approach to containing Covid-19 than a harder lockdown.
Dr Angelique Coetzee, Chairperson of Sama, said, “The coronavirus is out there, and returning to lockdown Level 5 will only harm our already fragile economy, and place businesses which are already struggling in further jeopardy. The current Level 3 lockdown is sufficient, but it must be accompanied by a wholesale improvement to medical care which requires a lot more focus on providing health facilities with resources to increase their capacity,”
Sama is a ‘union’ for doctors which is not allied to the public sector.
Coetzee noted that since the start of the pandemic, Sama had called for more and better-quality PPE for healthcare workers, increased numbers of doctors and other healthcare workers at public health facilities, lifting of a moratorium on medical officer posts and for more essential equipment to also be made available.
“These steps, we believe, are more necessary than returning to Level 5 lockdown,” said Coetzee.
Coetzee confirmed Sama was being contacted daily by doctors who said they were burnt out from being overworked, but who also said authorities were not taking their concerns seriously enough.
Coetzee said a vital step in dealing with the pandemic was to ensure all healthcare workers in the country were vaccinated as soon as possible. She said these healthcare workers were on the front lines of fighting Covid-19, and were risking their own and their families’ lives daily by simply stepping into healthcare facilities to treat patients.
Earlier this week President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the country would remain in Level 3 lockdown, with some adjustments.
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