The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) wants the Langa and Gugulethu clinics on the Cape Flats in the Western Cape to be shut down and be deep-cleaned after several COVID-19 cases were reported at the facilities in the last two days.
Samwu says the clinics have continued to operate as normal despite confirmation of the cases.
It blames the City of Cape Town for not following the protocols when a patient or staff member who tests positive comes into contact with clinic employees.
Cape Metro Regional Secretary of the union Bridget Nkomana says all workers need to be screened and tested.
Closure of other health facilities across SA
The General Justice Gizenga Memorial Hospital at KwaDukuza became the first public hospital in KwaZulu-Natal to be closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The hospital is now an isolation site after 16 people tested positive for the coronavirus.
Among the people who tested positive were nine mothers, two babies, and one nurse.
Health workers at risk
Last week, the Department of Health reported that about 328 health workers have contracted COVID-19.
The presentation revealed that 133 health workers contracted the virus in public facilities and 195 in private facilities.
The largest number of health workers testing positive comes from KwaZulu-Natal with and the Western Cape, as the graphic below explains:
Social distancing concerns as WC cases continue to climb
Meanwhile, concerns around the breaching of social distancing concerns are mounting as the Western Cape currently accounts for the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, currently sitting at 3609 cases.
Last week Friday, Capetonians flocked to The Promenade in Sea Point for an early morning walk as South Africa eased into Level 4 lockdown.
This followed the announcement by Cooperative Governance Minister Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma that exercising will be allowed between 06:00 and 09:00.
However, big numbers of people who turned up for their early morning exercise left little space for social distancing.
