The Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital has been shut down for seven days following a devastating fire.
Dozens of patients have been evacuated as firefighters from across Gauteng battled a blaze that broke out of the hospital’s special dispensary stores and swept through the medical facility destroying supplies and equipment.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura is visiting the Charlotte Maxeke hospital in Johannesburg this morning along with structural engineers to conduct an assessment of the damage and determine the extent of the fire damage. Firefighters have contain the blaze that started yesterday and flared up again last night.
David Makhura reassured that “There is no loss of life as a result of the fire, but we must take precautionary measures because the smoke is going into the different wards”
Gauteng Department of Health Spokeperson, Kwara Kekana updating the media
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union(NEHAWU) wants an immediate investigation into the fire stating that apart from the damaged Personal protective equipment the facility was, before the fires, an important COVID-19 centre within the province.