Eastern Cape activates outbreak response teams for Covid-19 coronavirus
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As soon as SA’s first coronavirus case was confirmed on Thursday afternoon, the Eastern Cape health department activated provincial and district outbreak response teams to deal with any further spread of the virus.
Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth is the province’s designated quarantine hospital to treat patients, and the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha and Frere Hospital in East London have been given holding facility status.
A 38-year-old South African man, who recently returned from Italy with his wife, has tested positive for the coronavirus in KwaZulu-Natal.
The man consulted a private general practitioner on March 3 with symptoms of fever, headache, malaise, a sore throat and a cough, health minister Zweli Mkhize said at a press conference minutes before a parliamentary debate on the issue.
The man has placed himself in quarantine.
Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo told DispatchLIVE the outbreak response teams would monitor the situation closely and respond where required.
On Thursday, Dr Nozipho Jaxa, senior manager for clinical training in the Eastern Cape, led a team around the province training officials at health-care facilities and ports on how to handle any potential cases of the virus.
Kupelo said the outbreak response teams had been activated immediately after Mkhize's announcement, but also urged people of the province not to panic.
“We have got to look at this in context.
“The confirmation of the KZN case does not suggest an outbreak in the rest of the country.
“It was a man who travelled to Italy who got the virus.
“The fact is, we do not have any confirmed cases in the Eastern Cape. We are being guided by the World Health Organisation and the national health department.
“We are ready to deal with this situation.”
He said residents should appreciate that the province had been able to effectively deal with outbreaks like the N1H1 virus (swine flu) in the past.
“We are appealing to people not to panic.”
Mkhize came under fire in parliament on Thursday afternoon after the announcement of SA's first case of coronavirus.
Opposition parties criticised the government for insufficient public awareness and called for an immediate mass media campaign regarding the virus, focusing on proper hygiene.
By Thursday, Covid-19 had infected more than 94,000 people and killed more than 3,200 across 81 countries and territories, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
What to do and know about the coronavirus
- Don’t panic.
- 82% of cases of Covid-19 are mild; people only experience a slight fever, fatigue and a possible cough.
- Wash your hands.
- You don’t need a mask. Taking a mask on and off to eat and drink can mean you touch your face more often, spreading germs from your hands to your mouth.
- Don’t touch your face or rub your eyes with unwashed hands.
- If you are genuinely concerned, call the NICD’s public hotline at 0800-029-999, Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm.
- Companies need to regularly disinfect surfaces and allow sick people to work remotely where possible.
- Flu is still a higher risk at the moment.