Govt won’t lose focus on rest of health care system, vows Mkhize
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says tuberculosis and diabetes still have higher mortality rate than Covid-19.
Mkhize was in East London in the Eastern Cape on Friday for the launch of an EMS scooters programme.
The programme is aimed at assisting with tracking coronavirus in remote areas within the province.
To date the Eastern Cape has 7868 confirmed Covid-19 cases.
Mkhize said coronavirus is a problem because it is a new disease with no vaccine.
"Covid-19 is a problem because it is a new disease that the human race has not become accustomed to that has got no immunity against and has got no treatment.
"And the fact that it spreads very fast is really the one that has caused more concerned.”
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He added that the global mortality rate is another issue causing anxiety.
"And in South Africa every day our numbers are increasing and the fact that it has increased mortality in a number of countries is the reason why everybody is anxious about it".
Mkhize said it should not be forgotten that cardiovascular diseases and diabetes have also recorded high death rates.
"Tuberculosis has still got more people that it has killed, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, but because we have been used to these diseases because we have got treatment for them and we can cope with them it does not appear as though it is a big issue.
"We will not lose focus on the rest of the health care system, we will not lose focus on the need to deal with HIV, dealing with diabetes, cancers ad metal health and unnatural causes.
"All of these things are very important to combine and that's why I'm saying as we deal with Covid-19, we deal with such a way that we combine the system to as to deal with Covid-19 and still deal with the others.”