Routine healthcare services were badly dented by Covid-19

Covid-19 and the restrictions imposed by the government had a devastating effect on the provision of routine public health services in SA during the first two waves, according to a study published in the SA Medical Journal (SAMJ).

The study raises the spectre of a further hit to the health system as SA enters its third wave of coronavirus infections, unless provincial health departments manage to maintain routine services in parallel with their response to a surge in Covid-19 cases...