The Free State Health Department is working with Red Cross volunteers to track down almost 500 worshippers of the Divine Restoration Ministries to test for the coronavirus.
Five international worshippers are among seven people who have tested positive for the COVID-19 in the Free State.
Free State Health MEC Montsheng Tsiu says all hotel workers who came in contact with the international travellers from France, Israel and the USA have also been screened.
“So, I think the screen is going well. We also have dispatched another mobile lab to the church. The church leaders; we started with them. We have already screened 62, and 53 of them are cleared of any signs. So, nine do have the signs and we are going to (do) the swabs to the nine at the church at this point an time,” says Tsiu.
In this video below coronavirus safety measures are outlined:
In KwaZulu-Natal, private hospitals have agreed to avail their wards and beds free of charge to treat and manage patients in the event of a large-scale coronavirus outbreak in the province.
According to the latest figures from the Department of Health, there are currently 240 confirmed cases in the country of which 27 are in KwaZulu-Natal.
Private hospital groups that have partnered with the provincial Department of Health include Mediclinic, Netcare, Busamed, Daymed and Akeso.
Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu has applauded the move.
“I really appreciate the spirit that those are running private facilities evidenced in our meeting. We are then going to have side engagements in relation to the human resource and the equipment in other areas that will need to be provided because some of the facilities are empty at this point and have not been equipped. So, we are going to have discussions on how those will be equipped. But should they be equipped by the Department of Health, the equipment still belongs to the department and at the end of this pandemic that we are faced, we will then we have to return it to the facilities of the department.”
BREAKING NEWS: South Africa’s confirmed #Covid_19 cases rise to 240 #CoronavirusInSouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/NY7JOACnXW
— SABC News (@SABCNews) March 21, 2020
