South Africans, residing in the Chinese city of Wuhan, say they’re waiting in anticipation for communication from the government – on details of when and how they will be evacuated from the region.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has been tasked with repatriating 184 South Africans from Wuhan – the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.
A South African working in Wuhan, Sizwe Sibiya, says they’re expecting to be notified soon on the evacuation process.
“We were told initially that it would take about 10-days for the whole process to be finalised and then we will be taken back home. We are hoping that in the next 12-24 hours – if they stick to the timeline that they gave us. The suspense is killing us, we can’t wait. The past three weeks have been a total lockdown. You can’t get out of your immediate community, you have to rely on deliveries and we have to rely on people bringing food for us.”
Audio: China-based South African Sizwe Sibiya speaks to Stephen Grootes in a telephonic interview:
Reduce the risk of coronavirus#coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak pic.twitter.com/SOfyqQG3N8
— SABC News Online (@SABCNewsOnline) March 9, 2020
In the video below, South African citizens in Wuhan asking to be repatriated:
The number of infections worldwide has increased to more than 107 000 with about 3600 deaths.
Confirmed coronavirus cases around the world:
The majority of cases and deaths have been in China, but cases are continuing to emerge across the globe.
There are three confirmed cases of Covid19 in South Africa – a couple from KwaZulu-Natal and a woman in Gauteng – but no deaths.
In the video below, Minister of Health Dr. Zweli Mkhize confirmed the third case of coronavirus in South Africa:
