“Doctors, nurses, patients and their families are demanding to know why staff fighting the coronavirus pandemic were left unprotected at a top Durban hospital where five people died and 66 others tested positive for Covid-19.”

“After health minister Zweli Mkhize ordered an investigation on Friday into the apparently unchecked outbreak of the virus at Netcare’s St Augustine’s Hospital, nurses and doctors who spoke to the Sunday Times,

as well as their unions, accused the hospital of mismanagement and flouting standard infection-control procedures.”

“Although Netcare strongly denies this, health workers at the hospital alleged that it failed to provide them with proper protective gear, refused to allow them to wear masks in case they frightened their patients,

and did not tell them which ward the Covid-19 patients were being treated in “until it was too late”.”

“On Friday, hours after President Cyril Ramaphosa extended the nationwide lockdown for a further two weeks, Mkhize held an online meeting with chief executives of most of the country’s private hospitals and announced an investigation into the St Augustine’s outbreak

in which 48 nurses were infected. He also announced the establishment of a task team comprising unions, private and public hospitals and the department of health in light of “concerning developments” and complaints from private and public health-care workers.”

“Already, one nurse employed at Durban’s flagship government hospital, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, and who works at St Augustine’s for extra money, has tested positive for Covid-19.”

“The provincial health department is now awaiting the results of 40 other nurses at Inkosi Albert Luthuli with whom she had been in contact.”

“Mkhize and his department are bracing themselves for the figures to rise further as they await a list of agency nurses who came into contact with infected staff so that they, their colleagues and their families can also be traced and tested.”

“Health workers and their unions at St Augustine’s also charged that management failed to tell them that they were treating patients with Covid-19 or to ensure that doctors and other medical staff who had travelled to the UK/US self-isolate for 14 days before returning to work”

“A St Augustine’s nurse who tested positive for the virus told the Sunday Times that it was a “tense and overwhelming” period for her and her colleagues.”

“The hospital management are telling everyone they had the best protocols and put in place all the measures, but it was us at the frontline who dealt with the patients, who ended up being exposed,” the nurse said.

“We weren’t told about the patients who were positive until it was too late. Management, who haven’t even bothered to pay us a visit to see how we are doing, will literally get away with this.

It makes me sick to think that they are protecting themselves when people’s lives were lost and there is a deadly virus out there.”

“Another hospital nurse said she had asked to wear a mask after the lockdown was announced more than two weeks ago but was told she was not allowed to do so.”

“They said they didn’t want to alarm patients. We weren’t even told which ward the Covid-19 patients were being kept in.

A week later we were given one mask and a brown paper bag and were told that at the end of our shifts we would need to place our masks into the brown bag, which would then be sent for a deep-cleaning processes,” she said.

“Another nurse told the Sunday Times that they were being victimised in their communities by neighbours who want them to move out, as well as on public transport where they are given a “hard time”.”

Another health worker said: “The stigma is really bad. We are being blamed by the public for transmitting the virus when there is no proof.

The negativity towards St Augustine’s employees has really brought down morale in the hospital. It’s nerve-racking to go home and see all the negative things said about us on social media.”

“Kevin Halama, spokesperson for the Health & Other Services Personnel Trade Union of SA (Hospersa), which represents 359 St Augustine’s employees of whom 248 are nurses, said the hospital’s masks policy was a real concern to staff.”

“Meanwhile, a Durban man, Bennie van Loggerenberg, told the Sunday Times of his brother Richard’s rage after St Augustine’s sent an SMS to his mother’s phone on Tuesday asking if she had experienced any Covid19 symptoms.”

His 81-year-old mother, Drienie Dorrington, died there from Covid-19 last week — the third patient to die of the virus at the hospital.”

Richard, who had his mom’s cellphone, responded: “This is the number of Mrs Dorrington. Passed away on 2/4/2020 from COVID-19 and she was 81-years-old. My mother.”

“Gareth Lemley, whose fiancée was admitted to the hospital on March 24 for surgery, said they were “sick with worry” that they could be carrying the virus.”

“He said he called the hospital several times after reading about patients dying and testing positive for Covid-19 but they didn’t take him seriously. He claims that one staff member told him it was a “hoax”.”

“They were very quick to hit us with a R47,000 hospital bill [for the surgery] but surely they could take R700 out of that and ask us to go for testing? Instead we are sitting here worried out of our minds.”