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Mkhize warns South Africans not to try to access the coronavirus quarantine area

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Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has warned against people attempting to gain access to the quarantined zone where South Africans who will be evacuated from China will be accommodated.

Mkhize says 151 South Africans out of 201 living in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus (Covid-19) have indicated their intention to return home.

More than 85 000 coronavirus cases have been reported in 57 countries across the globe. Almost 3 000 deaths have been reported, mostly in China.

No cases of Covid-19 have emerged in South Africa.

Minister Mkhize speaking during a media briefing at the OR Tambo International Airport.

151 South Africans are to return home from China. 

No-entry zone

Speaking during a media briefing at the OR Tambo International Airport, on Sunday, Mkhize says those arriving from China will be quarantined for 21 days to ensure they are not infected with the virus. He says only assigned individuals will be allowed access into the quarantined zone as a precautionary measure.

“The requirements would be that there will be a perimeter line that will be guarded by the military; in other words, there should be no easy entrance to the site. It is considered as a no-entry zone and no-fly zone, so you should not be wandering into that area. It is really a precautionary issue. Those under quarantine will not be allowed to exit the perimeter. No one will be allowed to enter the zone; not the media or the families, only those who are assigned are going to be allowed to be in there.”

South Africans in Japan

Mkhize says Japanese officials have assured government that the two South Africans, who have tested positive for the coronavirus, are recovering. They contracted the virus while working on a Japanese cruise ship.

“Those citizens from the cruise liner are receiving direct contact with our team to monitor their progress. We have been assured that they are recovering and those two who are on treatment, when they test negative, they will be free to return to SA because they will be cleared of the virus. However, those others that are waiting to be tested will also be subjected to a 14 day quarantine and they will be tested and hopefully will return without any restrictions.”

Ten other South Africa crew are also on board the Diamond Princess ship, currently docked in the port of Yokohama.

In the video below, Dr Zweli Mkhize says Japanese officials have assured the government that the two South Africans, who have tested positive for the coronavirus, are recovering.

SA ready to deal with any cases

Mkhize says government is prepared to deal with any cases of the coronavirus should it emerge in South Africa.

“We need to get ready as there is no country with a formula for stopping the coronavirus from infecting its people. Up to now, we are dealing with the issue with urgency. If there is a case coming in then we have to deal with that. We have dealt with episodes of Ebola, H1N1, and so on. So that is a situation where we are activating emergency measures. When we say we are ready, we are talking about that. We can still deal with any one of the cases if they landed in SA. That is the readiness that we are talking about.”

In the video below, Dr Zweli Mkhize assures South Africans that the health ministry is ready to deal with the coronavirus. 

However, the South African Medical Association (SAMA) warns that SA doesn’t have enough capacity to place people under quarantine. Chairperson of SAMA says South Africa cannot handle mass quarantine efforts.

“The important quarantine is self-quarantine. It costs less to quarantine people in their specific surrounding rather than a large number on a ship or coming with a flight.”

In the document below, the Health Minister briefs the media on evacuations of South Africans in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.

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