​Rofhiwa Marubini-Tshitahe 
Gauteng public hospitals have started on marathon cataract operations in a bid to reduce backlog that was caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.  This will form part of Eye Care Awareness Month activities. 
Celebrated under the theme: "Hope in sight", Eye Care Awareness Month is commemorated from 23 September to 18 October to raise awareness about the importance of eye health, specifically around the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness. 
Acting MEC for Health, Jacob Mamabolo said the department was prioritizing services that were impacted by COVID-19. 
"Since moving to Covid-19 Alert Level 1 which has seen the relaxation of restrictions on economic and social activity allowing more people to be able to move around we have prioritized the resumption of those services that were impacted," said MEC Mamabolo. 
Currently, there are over 15 900 patients awaiting cataract surgery. Around 8 527 cataract surgeries were cancelled in the province since the start of the lockdown on 26 March 2020. 
A cataract is a cloudiness of the lens in the eye which occurs in many people as they grow older, but which can also happen in younger people.
 In partnership with Kalafong Tertiary Hospital, the Steve Biko Academic Hospital on Monday, 12 October, started implementing the plan to perform 200 cataract procedures in two weeks. 
The partnership will see Steve Biko Academic Hospital eye clinic medical personnel joining Kalafong Hospital staff, using two dedicated theatres to perform around 15-20 operations per day. 
The Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa plans to perform 60 cataract surgeries between 19-23 October 2020. 
Meanwhile Leratong Hospital plans to perform 40 cataract procedures between 24 and25 October 2020.
Seventy-five percent of all cases of blindness is avoidable either through prevention or through treatment – which is why is important to get eyes tested at least once per year.
Symptoms of eye conditions can include; vision loss, altered eye movements, eye pain, visual field loss and a bulging eye.