WATCH | Gamtoos medical practitioners fighting virus with creativity

Medical practitioners in the Gamtoos Valley have put their best foot forward in the fight against Covid-19, which includes a choreographed coronavirus war dance.

Doctors and nurses from the Hankey and Patensie area said while they had not yet received a Covid-19 case, they were more than ready to ensure the community’s health and safety.

With a newly set up isolation facility that can accommodate up to 26 patients and brightly coloured homemade scrubs and face masks, the medical staff at Community Med said their quarantine dance routine was an indication of their readiness to win the war against Covid-19.

Patensie doctor Adi-Mari Schoeman said two years ago she had approached the community and its leaders to set up a healthcare fund, which was used to equip the isolation facility.

“We are a private practice in a small community in Patensie, and the whole community, including the farm community and the councillors’ office, had a big meeting at the beginning of the lockdown period about how we would prepare our people.

“As a citrus community, and knowing the importance of vitamin C during this time, we want to protect our people so that they can continue to produce the product,” Schoeman said.

“It was then decided that we would turn one of the buildings into an isolation unit using our medical fund.”

She said the most common issue raised by community members was their inability to self-isolate should they test positive, and the isolation facility was set up to address that issue.

She said the medical fund was set up as a relief option for community members who could not afford medical services.

The medical staff at the hospital collected tablecloths to make the scrubs suits.

“Because all the shops were closed we collected old clothes and colourful tablecloths, and ladies from the community sewed them for us.

“And I think it actually creates a cheerful mood, and also lifts the patients’ spirits.

“My 16-year-old daughter suggested we do a routine and share it on Facebook. Of course, she then did the choreography and taught us all the steps,” Schoeman said.

And though the medical staff were a tad offbeat, they joked that this was no reflection on their readiness.

Schoeman said her husband also suggested that when the pandemic war had been won, the medical staff should do a victory dance.

“We just want to make sure that we help each other out and ensure that everyone has food on the table and has access to a quality medical facility,” she said, adding that simultaneously putting a smile on patients’ faces did not hurt.