Safety first Medical-grade PPE worth ZAR15.5 million has been earmarked for 24 South African hospitals in urgent need of supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The South African Liquor Brand Owners Association (SALBA) has announced it will provide masks, face shields, gloves and coveralls/jumpsuits to six hospitals in Gauteng, five in the Western Cape, six in KwaZulu-Natal and seven in the Eastern Cape. This project forms part of an effort by the organisation, in partnership with the Department of Health, to address the shortage of PPE in hospitals across the country. According to Salba, ‘businesses in the liquor value chain have already made investments in direct support to the health system including provision of more than 200 000 litres of pure alcohol for production of sanitisers, supply of finished sanitisers and other PPE material’, since the outbreak of COVID-19. 22 September 2020 Image: Gallo/Getty Images