Covid-19: “It was my duty to make my results known”- SA Netball President
The President of Netball South Africa, Cecilia Molokwane, who recently tested Covid-19 positive, maintains that she was not afraid of the stigma that would follow her diagnosis.
LIMPOPO – A Netball South Africa statement last week which confirmed Molokwane’s Covid-19 positive status, stated that she had gone on a business trip to the United Kingdom and Scotland in March for business with the International Netball Federation, on which she serves as a board member.
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The business trip related to meetings around the 2023 Netball World Cup, set to be hosted in Cape Town.
Molokwane, upon her return to South Africa, was screened and cleared of the virus. She remains asymptomatic.
“As an international public figure, I needed to be honest with those who follow me. People deal with things in different ways, and this was my way of dealing with it.”
She said she felt the need to be honest and assist others in putting in place measures to stop the spread of the virus.
“I immediately went into self-quarantine once I was diagnosed. It is a difficult and slow process. You have to discipline yourself to ensure the safety of your loved ones. The virus doesn’t only move when you move, a person can transmit it.”
After it became known that she tested positive, Molokwane had by the time already attended several events in Polokwane, among other sporting events, and a funeral.
Tracer teams from the Limpopo Health Department confirmed that all those she came into contact with had been traced, screened for the virus. All tested negative for Covid-19.
“By disclosing my results, I gave them an opportunity to come forward for testing,” Molokwane said.
Two of the people she had come into contact with, were members of the executive council in the province, Polly Boshielo and Thandi Moraka.
A statement by the Office of the Premier has since confirmed they too, tested negative.
The department confirmed that all those who had been tested would remain in quarantine as per protocol.
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