She said initially it was a bit overwhelming for the doctors and nurses at the public facility.

“This is a new virus that we had never seen before in the world, and judging by what has been happening in other countries – initially everyone was a bit more worried, especially because they are health care workers in the front line and they go home to their families.”

She said motivation had now replaced the fear and worry that initially gripped many of her staff at the hospital.

“They are a bit more at ease but we are taking each day as it comes and trying to do the best we can for our patients.”

She said the hospital was being renovated and a number of new isolation and quarantine wards would soon be available for use.

Mabaso added that staff were constantly being updated with new guidelines, set out by the department of health, and would discuss these matters daily.

“We update staff in an attempt to share knowledge of the whole pandemic and the disease process … to understand it better.”

During his address Zikalala saluted all the health care workers fighting Covid-19 at a huge risk to their own health and safety.

He said nurses, doctors, community health care workers and various professionals in the health sector were human beings with families and anxieties like all of us.