4 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Amajuba
Three of the patients are self-isolating at home and one was hospitalised for treatment.
There are four confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Amajuba District, as the country enters into its first day of lockdown.
One of the people who tested positive for the deadly virus used public transport, making it nearly impossible for tracing teams to identify everyone who may have come into contact with the infected person.
“The person who used public transport was completely unaware of being infected. The coronavirus has reached the extent where it is becoming difficult for us to determine who is infected, where they were infected and how. It has reached the extent where it has already infected people living in crowded living conditions and using public transport,” warned Amajuba District Mayor and head of the Amajuba Coronavirus Task Team, Dr Musa Ngubane.
He pleaded, “It is very important for everybody to honour the 21-day lockdown. We are appealing intensely to the community to please stay indoors and only leave your home if and when it is absolutely unavoidable.”
Three of the patients are self-isolating at home and one was hospitalised for treatment, but all four are recovering well, according to the Task Team.
Dr Ngubane warned that Government is not taking the lockdown, and the threat the coronavirus poses to the nation, lightly. He further stated that residents can expect to see roadblocks at entrances and exits to every town, where law enforcement will ensure people are only out and about if it is necessary.
“The lockdown will help us in a few ways. Not only will it prevent people who are not infected from becoming infected, but people who are infected and don’t know it will be within their own environment where they won’t be able to transmit the disease to others. If anyone is infected, they will start to show symptoms within the lockdown period, while they are already quarantined in their own homes. Finally, those who tested positive and are in self-isolation will likely have shed the infection by the time the lockdown is over. While not everybody who shows flu-like symptoms will need to be tested, everyone who is being treated for flu-like symptoms will be monitored very closely for signs of Covid-19. If a health care worker feels it is necessary, then the patient will be tested for Covid-19,” explained Dr Ngubane.
Just days after the nation commemorated Human Rights Day (March 21), Dr Ngubane reminded residents of Amajuba that human rights should not only be acknowledged so far as one’s individual rights are concerned.
“As responsible citizens, respecting human rights means that you also focus on caring for others and protecting their rights as well,” he said. “Finally, if there are three words that should ring in your head during this time, it’s Wash. Your. Hands! Be honest and do what you are expected to do during this lockdown. You don’t want to be responsible for the destruction of the nation. You don’t want to be responsible for your own mothers and fathers and grandparents becoming critically ill. We want to do everything we can to keep everyone alive and well,” concluded Dr Ngubane.
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