Is South Africa Equipped To Handle Such A Crisis?
Forbes Africa|August - September 2021
Faced with a severe shortage of oxygen, India choked for breath at the height of its catastrophic covid-19 pandemic peak in April and May. Critical medical oxygen is usually the first resource to run low during respiratory emergencies. Currently in its third wave and with talk of an impending fourth wave, is South Africa equipped to handle such a crisis?
Chanel Retief
Is South Africa Equipped To Handle Such A Crisis?

On a bleak Sunday afternoon in late June in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dr Anne Biccard, while on a particularly arduous shift, watched three young people being rushed into the emergency department gasping for oxygen. They had Covid-19, and the hospital, already bursting at the seams with pandemic patients, had no available ventilators.

The immediate solution would have been to plug the new patients to oxygen concentrators, but unfortunately, the hospital could not find an extension cord to plug them into.

“On a Sunday afternoon, where do you think we were going to find one,” Biccard asks. “Silly things like that seem to be like insurmountable challenges.”

The hospital was left with no choice but to try something they had never done before.

“We had to take the equipment from theater – the anesthetic equipment that we use to put patients under and use that to ventilate the patients in the casualty,” Biccard recounts to FORBES AFRICA.

In dealing with the third wave of the pandemic in South Africa, which Biccard says has been worse than the first (July 2020) and second waves (January 2021), hospitals have been overwhelmed and breathless themselves.

Biccard takes a break from the pandemonium in the emergency room to catch her own breath outside as we speak.

“In the first wave, we saw what was happening overseas and were much better prepared… It’s crazy out here! This is my life right now; all of our lives!”

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August - September 2021 من Forbes Africa.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August - September 2021 من Forbes Africa.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من FORBES AFRICA مشاهدة الكل
TRACK, WATCH, BEFRIEND
Forbes Africa

TRACK, WATCH, BEFRIEND

IN THE PRISTINE WILDERNESS OF GABON ARE THE MAJESTIC AND GENTLE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS. A FIRSTHAND REPORT FROM OUR TRAVEL WRITER ON WHAT GOES INTO HABITUATING THEM.

time-read
4 mins  |
August - September 2024
CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY: THE AI BALANCING PROBLEM
Forbes Africa

CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY: THE AI BALANCING PROBLEM

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues transforming many industries, providing unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency. However, these advancements bring complex challenges that necessitate a delicate balancing act.

time-read
3 mins  |
August - September 2024
BEYOND ACADEMIA: THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MULTILATERAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
Forbes Africa

BEYOND ACADEMIA: THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MULTILATERAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

The great poet William Butler Yeats once said, \"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.\"

time-read
3 mins  |
August - September 2024
The Business Of Dance: Embracing One's Individuality And Style
Forbes Africa

The Business Of Dance: Embracing One's Individuality And Style

In the dynamic world of street dance, passion and perseverance pave the way for success. Living out this ethos is South African born B-girl turned businesswoman, Courtnaé Paul.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
COMPASSION FATIGUE: THE DANGEROUS DESCENT FROM HELPING TO HURTING
Forbes Africa

COMPASSION FATIGUE: THE DANGEROUS DESCENT FROM HELPING TO HURTING

It is a workplace reality that caring too much for your colleagues can hurt you.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL TO FIND OUR NICHE
Forbes Africa

IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL TO FIND OUR NICHE

Have you found your niche? I received a lot of advice when I set up my company, but perhaps the most important consisted of just three words: Find Your Niche.

time-read
3 mins  |
August - September 2024
HOW TO MAKE AFRICA WIN OFF THE FIELD TOO
Forbes Africa

HOW TO MAKE AFRICA WIN OFF THE FIELD TOO

When all else fails, try sports. It's good for the soul.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
BEAN THERE, DONE THAT
Forbes Africa

BEAN THERE, DONE THAT

British author Roald Dahl tapped into every chocoholic's imagination when creating Willy Wonka's bizarre chocolate factory in his 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

time-read
6 mins  |
August - September 2024
IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN WORKING WITH AL PACINO ON BROADWAY'
Forbes Africa

IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN WORKING WITH AL PACINO ON BROADWAY'

Arnold Vosloo Actor

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
BLENDED FINANCE: BRIDGING THE GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS IN SUPPORT OF THE SDGS
Forbes Africa

BLENDED FINANCE: BRIDGING THE GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS IN SUPPORT OF THE SDGS

Amid the widespread global support for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there was an underlying concern among economists and financial advisors in the emerging and frontier markets: public sector and donor funds were stalled, if not regressing, and the funding gap to realize the SDGs was increasing.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024