Healthcare trains converted for mobile Covid-19 testing
Testing kits and personal protective equipment have been distributed to the front-line healthcare staff working aboard the Phelophepa I and II trains.
Underserviced areas in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal will receive a boost in its testing capacity as two healthcare trains have been converted into mobile testing stations for Covid-19.
The Solidarity Fund, in partnership with the Transnet Foundation and the National Health Laboratory Service, have supplied testing kits and personal protective equipment to front-line healthcare staff working aboard the Phelophepa I and II – two of the Transnet Foundation’s healthcare trains.
Dedicated nurses and doctors with specialist training on Covid-19 testing will visit underserviced areas across both provinces with the help of Transnet’s rail network.
Alongside the TRANSNET Foundation and National Health Laboratory Service, we salute the medical professionals bringing tests to under-serviced areas in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, with TRANSNET Health Trains. Partnerships that make a difference – #ThatsSolidarity. pic.twitter.com/LfE4OPfA3Q
— The Solidarity Fund (@SolidarityRSA) May 12, 2020
Transnet Group CEO Portia Derby said, “The Phelophepa trains are a well-known partner of rural communities in the provision of primary health services. It is a real privilege for us to now include Covid-19 testing at this critical time.”
Gloria Serobe, chairman of the Solidarity Fund concluded, “This partnership is unity in action, with the Solidarity Fund playing a coordinating role with multiple stakeholders and making real interventions to support government efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19.”
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