The Muslim Association of South Africa (MASA) has converted a Johannesburg clinic into a COVID-19 treatment facility as Gauteng hospitals struggle to cope with the third wave of the pandemic.

JOHANNESBURG – Whilst South Africa’s sluggish COVID-19 vaccine roll-out has given way to a third wave in the country, medics at the forefront in the battle against the coronavirus are speaking of chaotic experiences.

On Friday, Salaamedia visited the MASA MedPark facility in Norwood, Johannesburg, where an NGO has converted a local clinic into a COVID-19 treatment facility. Immediately upon arrival, we found volunteers with their hands full.

Hospitals are overburdened. We’re not talking state – we’re talking hospitals. Everybody’s overburdened – Ml Anees Kara, MASA MedPark project manager

In Gauteng – which is the epicentre of South Africa’s third wave – hospitals  are buckling under the pressure brought upon by a sharp increase in new cases and patients requiring hospitalisation. Moulana Anees Kara, project manager at MASA MedPark, said that hospitals and medical personnel at the forefront of the fight against the rapidly-spreading disease are overburdened.

Covid-19 is real – it’s not a conspiracy. We are seeing not dead people, we are seeing death as it happens. We are seeing people drowning on earth, gasping for air. – Ml. Anees Kara, MASA MedPark project manager

Chairman of the Muslim Association of South Africa (MASA) Yaseen Theba said that the scarcity of oxygen remains one of the greatest challenges faced by the facility and elsewhere.