MEC tells of oxygen shortage in second wave By Thami Magubane Share DURBAN - THE KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health has revealed that it almost ran out of oxygen during the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak. Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane revealed this when she was addressing the Finance Portfolio Committee meeting in legislature this week. Some MPLs said they were worried that the department had not given assurances that a second supplier had been found, as they feared that should a third wave emerge, the province would be caught off guard. Giving a brief report on how they managed Covid-19, Simelane said that during the first wave, the numbers grew gradually and the department could adjust its plans, but with the second wave, infection numbers grew very rapidly.