Nasrec field hospital to close down this week
The Nasrec field hospital in Gauteng will close its doors at the end of the week.
The temporary stricture was set up in April last year to deal with the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases.
At the time the province had seen a sharp increase in positive tests, putting an enormous amount of strain on the healthcare system.
Several months later the country has recorded more than 1.5 million cumulative cases and close to 50 000 fatalities.
But the rate of infection has slowed.
On Thursday the province’s Health MEC Nomathemba Mokggethi said the structure had served its purpose.
“The Gauteng provincial government will close and decommission the Nasrec field hospital at the end of February 2021. This is due to the expansion of the public healthcare system that has seen 4265 functional beds being added and the evidence-based, scientific advice given by the provincial modelling team.”
She added there was no longer any scientific, statistical, or clinical reasons to keep the facility open.
“The closure of Nasrec field hospital will not have a major impact in the treatment of Covid-19 patients.”
Since opening, 1658 patients were admitted to the field hospital - 1254 for isolation, while 117 were admitted for quarantine and 287 as priority patients.
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