No immediate restrictions or bans after first coronavirus case in SA

The government is not enforcing any immediate restrictions or bans in the wake of the first case of coronavirus being detected in SA.

Health minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed on Thursday that the 38-year-old man who tested positive for Covid-19 is a South African citizen.

But he was quick to warn that the virus affected both South Africans and foreigners and also warned against possible discrimination. He was speaking at a media briefing on Thursday.

Mkhize confirmed that the man had travelled through OR Tambo International Airport and took a connecting flight to KwaZulu-Natal. The virus was not detected on arrival at the airport in Johannesburg because the symptoms only developed later. He saw a private doctor on March 3, with symptoms of fever, headache, malaise, a sore throat and a cough.

Mkhize said the man was placed in voluntary quarantine after seeing the doctor. “It was not severe symptoms,” he said.

“At the time of entry, there was nothing suspicious about the individual,” said Mkhize.

Members of the man’s family and the people he came into contact with will also be placed in quarantine.

Mkhize said a tracing team from his department was in the process of tracing people he came into contact with.

They will include about 10 other people who accompanied him to Italy.

This is a developing story and will be updated.