Healthcare workers affected by COVID-19 in a midwife obstetric unit in Johannesburg, South Africa

Background/Aims COVID-19 was first identified in China in December 2019 and was declared a pandemic in March 2020. South Africa reported its first case on 5 March 2020, and by December 2021, the country was battling a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections. This study assessed the impact of COVID-19 infections among healthcare workers in a midwives' obstetric unit in Soweto, South Africa, during the peak of the first wave. Methods Healthcare workers from the unit who were infected with or affected by COVID-19 were interviewed. Data were collected on demographics, presenting symptoms, the need for hospital admission in those who tested positive and the perceived source of infection. Qualitative data were collected on perceptions of testing negative or positive and the impact of testing positive. Results A total of 18 healthcare workers were interviewed, with the majority being midwives (61.1%), or advanced midwives (27.8%). Of the 15 included in quantitative analysis, 53% tested positive for COVID-19, with three (37.5%) requiring hospital admission, but there were no deaths. Of the staff who tested positive, 87.5% thought they became infected at work. None reported managing a patient with confirmed COVID-19. As a result of the high number of staff that tested positive for COVID-19 in the unit, there were staff shortages and anxiety about testing positive. Conclusions There was a high rate of COVID-19 infections in the unit, with the majority thought to have been acquired at work. This created anxiety among staff and had an impact on workload. The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on healthcare workers globally, and the effects are likely to be felt for years to come.