A stock photo of empty hospital beds – Image source: Flickr
COVID-19: Hospitalisations not so bad – but only time will tell
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla says in many instances, patients who tested positive had been admitted for other ailments
A stock photo of empty hospital beds – Image source: Flickr
While COVID-19 hospital admissions have increased dramatically during the current wave of infections, Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla reckons that the situation isn’t as disastrous as others may think.
Phaahla gave an update on the country’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination rollout during a media briefing on Friday morning, 10 December 2021.
JOE PHAAHLA: COVID-19 Hospital admissions low
According to Minister Dr Joe Phaahla, a significantly lower proportion of all COVID-19 patients have severe disease than in the second and third waves of the virus.
“Similar experiences have been reported from public and private hospitals in Gauteng. This is still early days but there are very promising signs,” said Phaahla.
The minister says there have been many instances of patients who have been admitted for other ailments, testing positive for COVID-19.
“It’s still early days but there are very promising signs that largely, patients, even those that are in hospital, are mild. Many of them are incidental. They came into hospital for other reasons, other illnesses, and because when you are admitted you have to be tested first, many of those who had come for other reasons, tested positive”
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla
Phaahla’s sentiments around COVID-19 hospitalisations are similar to those of Netcare CEO Dr Richard Friedland, who said early trends indicate that patients have less severe symptoms.
“Having personally seen many of our patients across our Gauteng hospitals, their symptoms are far milder than anything we experienced during the first three waves. While we fully recognise that it is still early days, if this trend continues, it would appear that with a few exceptions of those requiring tertiary care, the fourth wave can be adequately treated at a primary care level,” Friedland said.
According to data from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), close to 4 800 people are currently admitted at both public and private hospitals for COVID-19. On Thursday, 9 December 2021, the NICD picked up 453 admissions for the respiratory illness.
