In quotes|Western Cape officials on state of readiness to deal with coronavirus

Western Cape health department officials said they are ready to deal with the deadly coronavirus  should cases arise in the province. 

Doctors and the health minister in the province, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo, said this on Monday during a press briefing to  explain the province's state of readiness.

The address followed a national government ministerial committee address on Sunday which announced repatriation of 151 South Africans who are based in Wuhan, China.

The officials said while there have been no confirmed cases of the virus in SA, it was armed with experts and world-class equipment to deal with it should a need arise.

Here's what was said in quotes: 

WC has good track record in crisis management - Dr Beth Engelbrecht, outgoing head, WC health department

“Should multiple cases be confirmed in the province at community level, the command centre will be fully activated and daily liaison will take place about protecting citizens and managing patients. The situation will be monitored in a similar way as large fires or the water crisis. The province has a good history with successful management of these situations.”

Build on previous lessons - Dr Engelbrecht

“We will build on the previous learnings of the previous epidemics. We've done dry run presentations and put a nurse in the position of what would happen if a patient walked in  to test our systems and see what works and what doesn't work.”

In contact with NICD - Dr Engelbrecht

“We're in contact with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) as it is a central laboratory in the country. Every possible case that has been tested is known to the NICD and they will make a declaration whether or not a person is positive.”

People under investigation - Dr Keith Cloete, incoming head WC health department 

“We have an official definition that comes from the NICD which is people under investigation (PUI), and there are specific criteria for what qualifies one to be a PUI. It is whether you have specific symptoms that point to a cough, fever or some illness. Specifically linked to that is your travel history, which is no longer limited to China.”

No confirmed cases yet - Dr Cloete 

“We conduct a throat swab and take that sample to the NICD lab, and that is where we get confirmation. We've sent a few samples and all the results have come back negative. That's why we can confidently say nobody who fits that description has had a positive result in the country.”