Eastern Cape government opts for locally manufactured PPEs

Factory owners in the Eastern Cape say they are ready to assist the government when it comes to the manufacturing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to use to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Manufacturers in the Eastern Cape have embarked on a campaign to supply the provincial government with PPEs, in an effort to add to the stock that the provincial Health Department has already procured.

This after the Eastern Cape government realised that none of the companies that the National Treasury had contracted to supply material needed for COVID-19 were from the province.

Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane visited a factory in Dimbaza that manufactures PPEs for health workers and says local manufacturers should not be overlooked when procuring goods and services.

Mabuyane says, “To my surprise there is capacity here, the infrastructure, the investment that has been pumped here is actually underutilised. This factory can be functioning at much more optimal level had the government been supporting it…”

“It is still quite interesting to find out that there is less support if any from the provincial government on something like this. Everything is done here, the only company that is South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) approved in the Eastern Cape that is manufacturing all the PPEs. We talk about PPEs out there, we talking about importing all these, we have got companies inside here just actually next door from the provincial administration headquarters that is manufacturing, huge capacity that is here, its amazing and we have got about six hundred people who have been laid off simply because the company has not really been supported,” added Mabuyane.

ACDP leader rejects COVID-19 tests from China being used on him

African Christian Democratic Party Leader Kenneth Meshoe says he will undergo a second test for COVID-19 at a private laboratory but will not allow test kits from China be used on him.

Meshoe and his wife are still in isolation after they both tested positive for COVID 19.

He says it’s still a mystery that he has been in isolation for more than 21 days, without feeling sick or experiencing any symptoms.

Speaking in an interview with SABC News, Meshoe elaborates on why he will not be tested at a state laboratory.

“When I go for the second test, I will go to a private lab and one of the reasons I chose to do that is because there is a lot of test kits from China in the country that is used by government. And I prefer to use test kits that are either manufactured in South Africa or another country because I have read many complaints from a number of nations, including Spain and the UK saying  test kits from China are contaminated.”

ACDP leadsers, Meshoe and Steve Swart have both tested positive for the coronavirus after coming into contact with five international guests who had tested positive for the virus after a religious gathering in Bloemfontein.

In this video below, SABC News reports Reverend Kenneth Meshoe and his deputy Steve Swart have tested positive for COVID-19: