蜜芽传媒

South Africa is firmly in the grip of its Covid third wave, with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases finding that test positivity is around 23%.

Doctors are starting to become overwhelmed with the number of cases in hospitals - and military medics have been deployed in some provinces to help ease the burden on staff.

Dr Zolela Sifumba resigned from her post in a hospital last year because she believed the danger was too high. She says shortages of vaccines, ICU beds, PPE and oxygen are all getting worse.

"Health workers need help. You can't pour from an empty cup, everybody knows this, yet we're expecting tired healthcare workers... who are anxious, who are stressed, to just carry on. But we can't."

(Photo: A South African healthcare worker next to bottles of oxygen. Credit: Getty Images)