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South Africa is readying itself for a frightening surge in coronavirus cases, even if our death toll comes in under the recent dire projections.

President Ramaphosa made that clear in his Sunday night address, mirroring the words of other healthcare experts, and different parts of the country may peak at different times.

The Western Cape is currently experiencing a surge in numbers, and the intensive care units at hospitals such as Mitchells Plain and Tygerberg were reported to be full last week.

There is a chance that some cases may not make it to a hospital, and if somebody dies of COVID-19 at home, there are strict conditions that must be adhered to, which were signed off yesterday by health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize as part of a new government gazette.

For a start, there is no touching of the body allowed at all, and anybody touching the clothing must wear gloves. More from TimesLIVE:

The regulations state that recently deceased bodies can still expel air from the lungs when being moved – posing a risk of Covid-19 spread even after death…

The belongings of the deceased person should be handled with gloves and cleaned with a detergent, followed by disinfection with a solution of at least 70% ethanol or 0.1% (1,000 ppm) bleach…

The regulations state that any handling, transporting or “final disposal” of Covid-19 victims’ bodies should only be done by people wearing “suitable personal protective clothing at all times”…

A body bag should be used for transferring the body to the mortuary. Those handling the body at this point should use full PPE. The outside of the body bag and the trolley carrying the body must be disinfected.

That first point is really important, in that it shows how a deceased person can still potentially spread COVID-19.

The regulations also lay out the protocol for families viewing the body at a morgue or hospital, with strict rules around touching and dressing.

Another issue covered in yesterday’s gazette relates to mass burials, where the death rate of a town or city “exceed the capacity of available space to keep mortal remains”.

Below via Business Insider SA:

…the government may intervene to facilitate mass burials,” [Mkhize] said.

“Municipalities should ensure that a mass burial is done in consideration of human dignity and necessary controls should be put in place to ensure that mortal remains can be identified.”

…mortuaries may not keep bodies for more than three days, and “government may intervene” if remains are not claimed within two days.

“Non-Covid-19 mortal remains” must be buried or cremated within ten days.

You can read more on that here.

Funerals have already proven to be ‘super spreader’ events in South Africa, and under alert level 3, funerals are allowed as long as there are no more than 50 people present.

[sources:timeslive&businsidersa]