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Coronavirus

SA clocks 85 Covid-19 cases, including eight who did not travel, and the Wuhan group all test negative

SA clocks 85 Covid-19 cases, including eight who did not travel, and the Wuhan group all test negative
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - MARCH 16: A general view of consumers stocking up on household items items at a Dischem Store on March 16, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. It is reported that President Ramaphosa declared COVID-19 a national state of disaster and announced sweeping measures to contain the spread of Covid-19. (Photo by Gallo Images/Misha Jordaan)

South Africa has its first cases of local transmission of Covid-19 — in fact, there are eight confirmed cases with the total number rising by 23 to 85. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize sent his daily update just before midnight on 17 March. Four of the 85 are toddlers.

The late-night update hinted that there had been some disagreement between the state and private laboratories as to which cases to include in the final tally. Mkhize said previously that cases testing positive in private laboratories would only be included once the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) had confirmed the results.

Mkhize said last night that the latest figures are now the combined state and private-sector numbers, meaning the private sector lab cases have not all been confirmed by the NICD.

“I must inform the public that there was a debate with clinicians, epidemiologists, virologists on when we, as government, must release results to the public. These experts raised an issue of an ethical obligation to immediately alert patients as soon as the results become available.

This, therefore, means that by the time a confirmation test is conducted in public laboratories, patients would have been notified of their initial results. This clarification is important because as government, we had announced to the public that all positive results will be verified through our public laboratories and the NICD,” said Mkhize.

He said that they had decided to release results as they are submitted by both public and private labs.

“In instances where our confirmation tests give contrary results, we will inform the public, make reference to that specific result previously announced and give the outcome of the confirmation results,” he added.

Mkize said that while the state respects that private laboratories have the capacity to test and on their own issue results, “our intention and approach is to ensure that there is credibility in the information and results given to the public”.

“Whilst we appreciate the importance of being transparent with South Africans, we will not do so irresponsibly and not take into account all clinical and any other broader implications of the information we give to you,” Mkhize said.

Gauteng has 14 cases:

  • A 45-year-old male who had travelled to Belgium, UK, France and the US;
  • A 37-year-old male who had travelled to the UK;
  • A 54-year-old female who had travelled to the US;
  • A 52-year-old male who had travelled to the UK;
  • A 25-year-old male who travelled to the UK;
  • A 52-year-old female who had travelled to Italy;
  • A 59-year-old male who travelled to the UK and Dubai;
  • A 57-year-old male who travelled to the US;
  • A 60-year-old male who travelled to the US;
  • A 37-year-old female who travelled to Italy and Dubai;
  • A 21-year-old female with no travel history;
  • A 34-year-old male with no international travel history;
  • A 26-year-old female with no international travel history;
  • A 32-year-old female with no international travel history.

KwaZulu-Natal, where the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed, has four cases: 

  • A 48-year-old male who travelled to Dubai;
  • A 59-year-old female with no international travel history;
  • A five-year-old male with no international travel history;
  • A three-year-old male with no international travel history.

The Western Cape has five cases:

  • A three-year-old male who travelled to the UK;
  • A 58-year-old male who travelled to the UK and Austria;
  • A two-year-old male with no international travel history;
  • A 62-year-old female who travelled to the UK and Ethiopia;
  • A 71-year-old female who travelled to the UK.

Updating the nation on those repatriated from Wuhan in China, Mkhize also said it gave him great pleasure to announce “to South Africans that all the citizens from Wuhan were tested and their results came back negative for Covid-19”.

“We continue to keep them in quarantine for the prescribed period and will thereafter initiate the process of reunifying them with the community.” DM

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