Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says that government has taken all necessary steps to ensure that the repatriation of South Africans from China will be seamless and poses minimal risk.
Briefing the media in Johannesburg, on Sunday, Mkhize says measures have been put in place to ensure that the 151 South Africans that have indicated a wish to be repatriated from China will make their way into South Africa in a manner that ensures that the coronavirus is contained and will not spread.
An Inter-Ministerial Committee has been set up consisting of departments of Health, Defence, Home Affairs, Justice, Social Development, International Relations and Co-operation supported by the military and the Police. These departments will work together to ensure the evacuation of South Africans from China as well as quarantine them as they make their way into the country.
The return of the South Africans will happen within a period of seven to 10 days indicated Minister Zweli.
Mkhize: We must remember that we are dealing with a group of healthy people who had built lives in Wuhan but found themselves disrupted by an extraordinary situation#CoronaVirusUpdate
— SABC News Online (@SABCNewsOnline) March 1, 2020
Once in the country, the South Africans will be under quarantine for a period of 21 days to ensure that they test negative for coronavirus. They will not be allowed to exit the perimeter.
Mkhize highlighted that the quarantine area will not be identified to the public. The area will be guarded by the military.
The area will be declared a no-entry zone and a no-flight zone.
News conference by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on coronavirus:
#CoronaVirusUpdate Mkhize: The manner China has managed the outbreak has many lessons for the global community on what works and mistakes to avoid, as they have treated around 80000 patients with proven COVID-19.#sabcnews
— Chriselda ‘Babes WeNdaba’ Lewis ™️ (@Chriseldalewis) March 1, 2020
In the document below, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize briefs the media on evacuations of South Africans in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.
#CoronaVirusUpdate Mkhize: Approximately 32000 have recovered and around 46000 still on treatment and there have been 2900 deaths. Relatively speaking this mortality is relatively low at around 3%.#sabcnews
— Chriselda ‘Babes WeNdaba’ Lewis ™️ (@Chriseldalewis) March 1, 2020
The map below shows designated hospitals to manage the possible coronavirus outbreak in South Africa
Stranded South Africans
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday ordered the repatriation of the South Africans from the central Chinese city, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.
Kellina Maduray, a final year medical student in the Chinese city of Shandong says she has not left her campus since the beginning of February.
“In order to limit the spread of the virus, universities have restricted the students from leaving campuses. From the beginning of February, I have not left my campus. My university has been very proactive in taking steps to prevent the disease from spreading. We get our temperatures tested every day like clockwork, and are provided with the face masks which are supplied by the university. The preventative measures being taken are limiting the spread. It is important to stay alert and not anxious, as well as to understand that we all play an important role in preventing this virus from spreading.”
#COVID19 Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsaoledi: Dont know why they are saying we’re not prepared. It was SA that was leading with diagnosis and treatment of Ebola in West Africa #SABCNews
— Noma Bolani (@missbolani) March 1, 2020
SA’s state of readiness
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says South Africa is well-resourced to cope with any outbreak of coronavirus. The organisation says that it is working with South African authorities regarding the activation of necessary resources if required.
WHO has also deployed personnel to African countries to deal with the possible coronavirus outbreak.
South Africa has been classed as a priority-one country because of the large number of travellers to and from the country, among other reasons.
Technical Officer at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, Dr Mary Stephens, says they will continue to assist South Africa and other countries.
“The major areas we saw challenges with regards to preparedness were the areas of infection prevention and control and also case management. What we are doing is to provide targeted support to these countries in addressing those areas with greatest need. We have deployed experts to most of the priority one countries including South Africa and a lot of the priority two countries to help them address those gaps in those critical areas where we think they need urgent support.”
In the video below, health authorities say that they are ready to detect the coronavirus in South Africa.
– Additional reporting by Risha Maduray.