Doctors and nurses at Livingstone Hospital in Eastern Cape, South Africa, sang as they wheeled patients recovering from COVID-19 from the critical care ward to the general ward. The public health system in this area had been near the brink of collapse in November due to a shortage of medical staff. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provided support and helped them open a new COVID-19 ward.
South Africa is currently facing a resurgence in cases due to the presence of a new variant of the COVID-19 disease. The MSF team in the Eastern Cape is preparing to travel to the Western Cape, where a sharp second wave of infections has filled hospitals in Cape Town to capacity. MSF doctors and nurses will support one of the province’s COVID-19 field hospitals.
