On the Ground in Botswana with COVID-19

One of our World Spine Care Clinical Supervisors in Botswana is Mufudzi Chihambakwe. Dr. Chihambakwe is also a member of the Botswana Government Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) staff member, and also therefore on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The situation in Botswana is rapidly evolving as is the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic globally.

Mufudzi Chihambakwe, Clinic Supervisor, in front of the World Spine Care clinic Shoshong, Botswana

The government lockdown is in day six (as of the time of this post) and the confirmed case number has risen to thirteen patients and one death. Testing is ongoing and contact tracing is leading to more suspected cases and hence the number is expected to rise even further.

Currently, in the world Spine Care clinic, we have dramatically reduced our numbers and are only seeing very acute cases and health care workers who serve at our facility.

I am currently on standby to help screen and triage patients if the hospital experiences an influx of patients. Many of our colleagues are worried about the preparedness of the health system to handle large numbers of cases and those with families are worried about putting their own loved ones at risk. Many are also rising to the occasion and are keeping essential services functioning and reinforcing social distancing measures for those they serve.

On behalf of all of us at World Spine Care, we wish to extend our heart felt thanks to all the healthcare workers – all over the world – who are rising to the occasion to do all that they can to support patients, like Dr. Chihambakwe and the team at the MOHW in Botswana.