Reporting by Heraut on local Covid-19 cases
Many confirmed (and unconfirmed) reports of Coronavirus cases in Nigel and Heidelberg had surfaced last week and learned this morning that another member from SAPS Heidelberg, as well as an employee at Seton in Nigel tested positive for Covid-19.
It never was a question of if, but when the much-feared Coronavirus would rear its ugly head within our own communities.
On June 22, South Africa recorded over 100 000 coronavirus cases, the highest in the continent, while the number of deaths inched towards 2 000.
The same day, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ekurhuleni East (2) – NIGEL, Duduza, Springs and Kwa-Thema has jumped to 301, with 60 recoveries. Lesedi recorded 100 confirmed cases with 10 recoveries and in Sedibeng, Emfuleni sits at 474 confirmed cases with 84 recoveries. Midvaal recorded 58 cases and 17 recoveries.
As we come to grips with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the fact of the matter is that it is already among us and will remain with us for many months to come – making it nearly impossible to report on each and every single case individually.
Whereas your concerns towards the risk factors of community transmission are understandable, HERAUT will subsequently not be reporting on local cases daily, but rather focus on risk factors at municipal levels such as Lesedi, Ekurhuleni and Sedibeng.
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases will, therefore, be published online as and when they are made available by the government.
Remember to wash/sanitise your hands frequently and to wear a mask when you are in public.
Social distancing is still one of the most effective ways to avoid the spread of the virus and although it has been a challenging three months, we are all in this together.
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
