Afrox Managing Director Schalk Venter is confident there will be no shortages of medical oxygen in South Africa should the country be hit by a second wave of coronavirus (Covid-19). As the sole supplier of medical oxygen to the state hospitals and clinics, as well as to a number of privately-owned hospitals and clinics, Afrox has been at the forefront of the Covid-19 response in South Africa.
“Even at the peak in South Africa we never had any challenges on oxygen supply. So I don’t foresee a shortage of medical oxygen at all,” he tells gasworld. “At the peak of certain provinces, we experienced about twice the normal demand and we could supply up to five times. We are very well covered in terms of capacity.”
“At that five times level, if we got to that, it would obviously mean we would have to shift some oxygen production away from industrial to the healthcare and medical sectors. But if we got to that infection rate, the general economy would be closed up, so there would be an excess in any case.”
At the time of writing, South Africa reported 676,084 cases of Covid-19 – an increase of 1,745 cases on the previous day. 132 Covid-19-related deaths were also reported, bringing the total number to 16,866.
“Infection rates have come down from the peak and there’s also substantially less hospitalisations. The economy is open to a level where it is close to normal, except for maybe international travel which will open soon,” Venter explains.
“South Africa has had a particularly tough lockdown type approach from government which saw 50% of the economy go down in April. Covid-19 has really impacted everything on the economy. I think we will first see a reduction in volumes before we see an increase. I think we will have to plan for a little bit of a tougher economic environment for at least the next year.”
