CORONAVIRUS UPDATE - WITH OVER 200 DEAD, THERE'S "NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT EVACUATIONS" OF SOUTH AFRICANS FROM CHINA

The virus has so far killed more than 200 people and infected close to 12000 people in 24 countries around the globe, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring the spread of the virus a global state of emergency on Friday.

On Saturday, Botswana confirmed that the number of suspected cases had risen to five. In South Africa, 14 suspected cases have been probed in the past 24 hours, but in all cases test results were negative.

In Botswana, the first suspected carrier arrived in the country aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from China and the subject was quarantined for further tests.


“The five cases were picked up at different times and are isolated at a designated health facility while awaiting laboratory results. The specimen has been sent to the regional reference laboratory in South Africa. All five suspected cases arrived at the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport from China on different flights,” said Botswana Health and Wellness Ministry spokesperson Doreen Motshegwa.

They are still waiting for test results, which have a turnaround time of 48 hours. South Africa remains one of 13 countries identified by WHO as top-priority, given the high volume of travellers to and from China.

At Cape Town International Airport, when passengers wearing masks arrived from China this week, they had their temperatures monitored. Emergency centres have been set up around the country. Tygerberg Hospital functions as the go-to facility because it has an isolation unit.

With travel bans in the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, South Africans have questioned the government’s decision not to evacuate its citizens. The US, UK, Australia and other EU countries are sending planes to evacuate citizens.

Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize said South Africans in China could ask for help from the South African Embassy there. The Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) has a hot line to assist locals.

Dirco has estimated that there are 165 students and 54 teachers living in Wuhan and as many as 3 000 students living in China.

The South African Embassy said on Saturday its citizens in Wuhan had been given new guidelines from Chinese officials on exit requirements.

The alert stated that no person would be allowed to exit the city or Hubei province privately. Currently, two South Africans are under 14-day quarantine in Tianjin after they left Wuhan. Only chartered flights would be allowed to enter the province for the purpose of evacuation of travellers who have been successfully quarantined.

Mkhize reiterated that the country had not identified a need for emergency evacuations. “We maintain that there is no evidence to support repatriation or emergency evacuations of our citizens,” he said.

via - IOL