Question NW493 to the Minister of Health

Reply:

a) The first part of the question related to the number of Quarantine facilities that have been activated in the country and shown per province.

Province	NO OF SITES	NO OF BEDS
Eastern Cape	19	662
Free State	5	313
Gauteng	21	6236
KwaZulu Natal	48	1098
Limpopo	6	313
Mpumalanga	6	434
North West	6	188
Northern Cape	9	497
Western Cape	16	2537
Grand Total	136	12278

There are a number of sites on standby but is only activated as and when the Province deem it necessary to accommodate patients and or PUI's.

(b) There is currently 64 privately owned and 72 state owned facilities utilised. The following types of facilities are being utilised:

Type of facility	Number of Sites in this category
B&B	15
CARAVAN PARK/CAMP SITE	1
HEALTH FACILITY	52
HOTEL	38
LODGE	7
NATURE RESERVE LODGE	6
Other	1
RESORT	12
Training Centre	4
Grand Total	136

These sites were assessed for their suitability against a set of guidelines that looks at their locality, access to the site, ventilation, basic infrastructure requirements like access to electricity and water and then space for each occupant.

(c) There is a list of equipment requirements provided for in the guideline that include the following:

Minimum Equipment

Clinical gloves (latex, single-use gloves for clinical care)

N95 masks – only for aerosol generating procedures (taking of specimens) Medical/Surgical masks

Aprons - disposable

Sharps containers

Red health risk waste bags to be in health care risk waste box with biohazard sign

Alcohol-based hand sanitiser

Liquid hand wash

Clean single-use towels (e.g. paper towels)

Cleaning gloves (reusable vinyl or rubber gloves for environmental cleaning)

Appropriate detergent for environmental cleaning and disinfectant for disinfection of surfaces, instruments or equipment

Large plastic bag for general waste (black or transparent)

Linen bags

Collection container for used equipment

What has been issued to each site is dependent on the type of site and their own commitment to the cause. In the Western Cape for example some privately owned sites only required masks, gloves, bioboxes and red bags. The rest were provided by the establishment themselves.

(d) A standard set of training is conducted by Provincial Departments of Health related to the following:

• Training of healthcare professional on SOPs that needs to be followed at the quarantine centres for daily examination, movements in the facility, infection prevention control measures and use of PPE kit etc.
• Paramedical staff (staff nurses, medics, pharmacist etc) need to be trained on SOPs to be followed at quarantine/isolation centres and use of PPE.
• Support staff (housekeepers/cleaners, caterers, security staff, drivers and general duty staff) need to be trained on the use of masks, gloves, cleaning and disinfection procedures and use of PPE kit, etc.
• When a new staff member is assigned to a quarantine/isolation site, it needs to be ensured that he/she has received proper training before undertaking the work.
• All training should emphasise that all activities/procedures must be done under the strict monitoring and observation of trained specialists.

The exact numbers of people trained at these facilities is currently unknown.

(e) The costs associated at each of these centres varies and is dependent on the type of facility, who owns it and what the commitment is from each related to the cause. Private facilities in the hospitality industry is paid per person per night. For that they provide the full accommodation and catering support function, and the Provincial departments pick up the bill related to any clinical and waste management services. Costs associated with that range between R850 to R1200 per night per person. This includes accommodation and two meals per day.

For public facilities, again depending on the type of facility the cost would vary. From a priority perspective, public facilities already equipped with linen, beds and other basic furniture and services were first activated. In more dire times the Department is preparing public facilities by procurement of all beds, furnishing and operational equipment to activate facilities as a second priority. However, in the short term there is a heavy reliance on privately owned facilities where the moneys paid, also strengthened the tourism industry where no income could be generated.

The procurement of Health Technology equipment is also not done in bulk and at a rapid rate to make provision and address the demands that Covid-19 is placing on the department. Equipment is issued to where it is needed and includes Medical, Isolation and Quarantine facilities so to isolate the costs to only quarantine facilities is difficult at present.

END.