Platinum group metals miner Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat), together with the North West Health Department, has officially opened the 200-bed Royal Bafokeng Platinum Field Hospital, in Rustenburg, at a cost of about R10m, to support government’s already overburdened resources in the fight against COVID-19.
Working with the North West Health Department and the Bojanala District Health Department, RBPlat converted its unused South Shaft Change House at the Maseve mine, in the province, into the hospital to provide initial COVID-19 medical treatment to its employees and communities.
The 2,940 m² treatment facility includes five wards. Each bed has its own television and personal lockable locker to store patients' valuables and is individually screened off from other patient beds for privacy.
The wards have also been installed with sani-disc ultraviolet lights to kill any airborne diseases, as well as 108 Caribbean Ray 2,000 W infrared heaters.
The report says the facility has been described as being well-ventilated and able to cater for mild to moderate COVID-19 cases. All required medical facilities and healthcare professionals are also available.
The handover of the field hospital to North West Health Department forms part of the company’s collective responsibility to “make a real difference in communities during this difficult time”.
De Beers' Venetia Mine has unveiled a R10m coronavirus testing laboratory that will be used to check the diamond mines’ employees and contractors for COVID-19. Mining Weekly reports that discussion with the Limpopo Health Department is also under way on assisting with the government’s screening efforts in the mine’s labour sending areas of Musina and Blouberg.
The laboratory, which will play a vital role in the diagnostic testing process for COVID-19 among employees and contractors, is expected to analyse at least 80 tests a day with a 24-hour turnout time for results. Operated by two technicians, the high-throughput laboratory is fully equipped with a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine and other vital equipment including storage fridges, biosafety cabinet and centrifuges to increase testing capacity and analyse test samples to help speed up diagnoses and curb the spread of the virus.
If aligned to the Limpopo Health’s testing strategy, the laboratory will also analyse test samples from the Musina Hospital, Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital and Helena Franz Hospital, which are the local health facilities identified for screening positive COVID-19 patients from Venetia and the communities surrounding the mine.
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