When the Eastern Cape Health Department's track and trace teams working in Nelson Mandela Bay get ready for work in the morning, they first pray for protection. Daily Maverick reports that after six months, most have been robbed more than once. “O Lord, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee” has been printed on a picture they put on their WhatsApp profiles. Then they get into their vehicles, four at a time. Often, after an hour or two, messages come through that yet another team has been robbed.
“Our teams are attacked again and again,” health worker Winky Mngqibisa said. “Like me, many of us are 60 or even 70 years old. These youngsters see the health department vehicle and they know it will be driven by ladies,” she said. She said the robberies began during the “first wave” in June when they had too many patients to finish work during the week and had to work weekends. She said New Brighton and KwaZakhele were the two worst places to work.
Daily Maverick reports that another nurse employed by the Health Department who asked to remain anonymous said she had been robbed twice since June.
Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson Siyanda Manana said four of the department’s vehicles had been hijacked at gunpoint. The latest incident was in KwaZakhele last Thursday, 29 October. “The vehicle was recovered by the South African Police Services with all of its four wheels missing,” Manana said.
“These tracing and testing teams are very important in our fight against the spread of COVID-19,” said Eastern Cape MEC for Health Sindiswa Gomba. “These incidents happen at a time when the Nelson Mandela Metro is faced with a spike in numbers of people who are COVID-19 positive,” she said.
“The teams are helping the very same communities that are harming, robbing, hijacking and traumatising them. The withdrawal of the health staff will leave communities very vulnerable to COVID-19 infection,” Manana said.
[link url="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-11-02-nelson-mandela-bay-nurses-robbed-again-and-again-as-thugs-demand-covid-19-protection-money/?"]Full Daily Maverick report[/link]