Cape Town – The number of people who have succumbed to cholera in Hammanskraal has increased to 23, the Gauteng health department said on Sunday.
Since 15 May, a total of 229 patients have been treated at Jubilee District Hospital.
“The number includes 23 patients transferred to other Tshwane-based hospitals. In the past few days, fewer patients have presented at health facilities with symptoms of diarrhoeal disease.
“The number of laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera seen at the hospital is 48. To date, 23 people have, unfortunately, passed on from the disease outbreak,” News24 quoted Gauteng health department’s spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, as saying.
He said as of Saturday, there were 77 patients admitted for the disease.
According to Times Live, Modiba said as part of efforts to manage the bacterial disease, the government has set up a field hospital in Kanana.
“The six temporary tents have been set up to immediately attend to people presenting with symptoms of dehydration, as vomiting and diarrhoea eliminate water from the body. In this temporary hospital, patients are either given oral hydration or intravenous hydration on the spot, and the most critical patients are immediately taken to hospitals in Tshwane for further management and admission,” Modiba said.
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The government is emphasising the importance of hand hygiene and urging people with symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and dehydration to seek medical attention.
The public is also advised to avoid consuming potentially contaminated food and water.
Meanwhile, residents of Hammanskraal are calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently pay a special visit to the area.
Residents said the president’s visit will allow the government the opportunity to expand the necessary humanitarian aid for the affected communities, and families who have lost their relatives since the outbreak of the cholera.
“The president must come and help us so we can get a permanent solution. Water is life. We cannot have better life without water,” said a resident during an interview with SABC News.
“Yes the president must come and see for himself the challenges that we are facing. Leaking and dirty meters and that water come to our and drink it. So he must come to see these challenges of water,” said another resident.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
