South African healthcare workers and COVID-19 : a shared responsibility to protect a precious and limited resource
Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Health & Medical Publishing Group
Abstract
Healthcare workers (HCWs) in African countries face
high risks of occupational exposure to many pathogens, including
tuberculosis, measles, HIV and Ebola.[1,2] The novel coronavirus SARSCoV-
2 poses an arguably greater threat to African HCWs than any
other infectious agent to date. Data from countries with established
epidemics show that HCWs experience high rates of COVID-19
infection, morbidity and mortality. In the USA, 19% of COVID-19 cases
whose occupational status was known were HCWs (9 282/49 000),[3]
and >90 000 HCW COVID-19 infections were documented in 30
countries, with 260 deaths in nurses, by early May 2020.[4] In South
Africa (SA), on 6 May, Minister Zweli Mkhize reported that 511 HCWs
had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (7% of the national total), with
nurses accounting for 53% of total HCW cases.[5]
The unprecedented risk posed to HCWs by COVID-19 is clearly
acknowledged by all levels of the SA government. Nationally there have
been commitments, both financially and administratively, to ensure
procurement and local production of personal protective equipment
(PPE) and transparent reporting of HCW COVID-19 infections. To
varying degrees, administrative and engineering interventions to
prevent COVID-19 infections and outbreaks have been implemented
in SA healthcare facilities (Table 1). Despite the early phase of the
pandemic and general availability of PPE, SA is already facing high
rates of HCW COVID-19 infections and exposure events. This is
a concerning development reflecting both widespread community
transmission (with HCW infections) and the need to strengthen
‘universal’ prevention measures in healthcare facilities, e.g. physical
distancing, mask-wearing, hand hygiene, and increased cleaning/
disinfection of surfaces and equipment.
Description
CITATION: Dramowski, A. et al. 2020. South African healthcare workers and COVID-19 : a shared responsibility to protect a precious and limited resource. South African Medical Journal, doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2020.v110i7.14903.
The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.za
The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.za
Keywords
COVID-19 (Disease) -- Transmission, Community health aides -- Health risk assessment, Public health personnel -- South Africa -- Protection, Medical personnel -- South Africa -- Protection, Protective clothing, Personal protective equipment
Citation
Dramowski, A. et al. 2020. South African healthcare workers and COVID-19 : a shared responsibility to protect a precious and limited resource. South African Medical Journal, doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2020.v110i7.14903.