The doctors, including medical technicians and specialists will be deployed throughout the five districts in the Province.
ELEVEN Cuban doctors, including medical technicians and specialists, will be deployed throughout the five districts in the Northern Cape this week, to assist in fighting the Covid-19 virus over the next 12 months.
They are part of the 217-member medical delegation that arrived in South Africa last month and have completed their 14-day quarantine in Pretoria.
Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul and MEC for Health Mase Monnapule welcomed the doctors on Monday morning.
Saul said this would bring the number of Cuban doctors working in the Province to 36.
“The Province has the lowest rate of Covid-19 in the country and no deaths. We want to lower the rate of infection. The lockdown will not prevent infections but has given us time to develop a system to respond to a high number of infections. We are grateful to the doctors, who are skilled technicians and know how to deal with the pandemic to minimise the impact and strengthen capacity,” said Saul.
He indicated that the Province was expected to experience a peak in infections around August and September.
“We still have to go through the eye of the storm. We see what is happening across the rest of the globe. A lot about the virus is still unknown. At first we were told that the virus attacks your lungs. Now we are told that it also affects your vital organs, such as your kidneys.”
Saul pointed out that the majority of the population relied on public health services.
“Up to 80 percent of the population in the Province are dependent on state health facilities; where only a few have access to private health care.”
