South Africa healthcare workers protest work conditions

Over 100 health care workers in South Africa staged a protest against poor working conditions and corruption related to the government's procurement of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE). Demonstrations were held at the president's Union Buildings offices in the capital Pretoria on Thursday.

Demonstrators said the lack of sufficient equipment has claimed lives of health care workers, who are being placed at risk as some health facilities have seen shortages of PPE. A report by Amnesty International released on Wednesday recorded 240 deaths among health care workers in South Africa, who is also among the countries with most fatalities due to the pandemic. South Africa has recorded more than 630,000 positive COVID-19 cases, the largest spread of the virus in Africa and sixth in the world.