By Kaya 959 Reporter
Families and friends will now be able to visit loved ones in the hospital for 15 minutes a day.
The Gauteng Health Department announced that visiting times have been amended to allow one visitor per patient for 15 minutes each day.
Officials temporarily suspended visiting hours at all public health facilities in the province in June. This was in reaction to the rising number of COVID-19 infections.
Visitors will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms before being allowed to visit.
Gauteng Health spokesperson Kwara Kekana said the amendment to visiting hours will permit relatives and friends to visit patients whilst adhering to COVID-19 safety measures – such as social distancing, minimising overcrowding, and hospital congestions.
“This will also ensure promotion and adherence to occupational health and safety measures while promoting optimum infection prevention and control measures at all Gauteng public healthcare centres,” Kekana said.
Kekana said all visitors will be screened on arrival.
ALSO READ: Number of South Africa’s new COVID-19 infections decreasing
Adjusted Alert Level 1
The department added that relatives of patients should get contact details of the ward their family members are admitted to so they can call whenever possible without having to visit the hospital.
The move comes following the downgrading of the country to an adjusted alert level 1 last week.
The Gauteng Department of Health is calling on communities to get vaccinated.
Officials have embarked on a number of vaccine awareness and education drives to get people vaccinated against Covid-19. All vaccination sites in Gauteng accept walks-in regardless of whether people have registered on EVDS.
Are you 18 years or older and yet to vaccinate? Go to your nearest vaccination site to get your jab. All vaccination sites in @GautengProvince accept walk-ins whether people are registered on the EVDS or not #iChooseVaccination #VaccinesSaveLives pic.twitter.com/A6hX35xxmb
— Gauteng Health (@GautengHealth) October 5, 2021
The latest report from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases showed an increase of 429 new COVID-19 cases in South Africa. This increase represents a 2.6% positivity rate.
Thirty-nine more people died from COVID-19-related illnesses, taking the country’s coronavirus death toll to 87 819.
“Gauteng province accounted for 19%; Free State accounted for 10%; Eastern Cape accounted for 9%; North West accounted for 8%; Northern Cape accounted for 7%; Mpumalanga accounted for 3%; and Limpopo accounted for 2% of new cases reported,” the NICD said.
ALSO READ: SAFA in talks to allow fully vaccinated spectators at soccer matches



