On high alert

Tygerberg Hospital is a designated facility for the isolation of coronavirus patients in Cape Town.

As the country received news of its first coronavirus patient Tygerberg Hospital reported a “suspected case”of novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, in Parow.

However, the man lied to health officials about a trip to a coronavirus-hit country in order to receive medical treatment on Friday March 6.

Provincial health spokesperson Mark van der Heever said the person used the Covid-19 situation for his personal gain to be attended to soonest.

He said the man did show signs that he could be suffering from coronavirus but did not meet the case definition and was discharged.

Mr Van der Heever says it’s unclear whether any action could be taken against the man and a local health team is looking into the matter.

There are currently no cases in the Western Cape and the department is asking the public not to use the Covid-19 situation for personal gain as this leads to the misuse of resources and unnecessary panic.

Today, Wednesday March 11, media are to visit the isolation ward dedicated to dealing with cases of the virus at Tygerberg Hospital. After the tour the ward will be decontaminated.

Tygerberg Hospital is a designated facility for the isolation of coronavirus patients in Cape Town. Groote Schuur Hospital and the Red Cross War Memorial Hospital are on standby if the need arises.

On Saturday, a 39-year-old woman from Gauteng, who is said to have had close contact with the couple, also tested positive. They were part of a group of 10 people and they arrived back in South Africa on Sunday March 1. The man consulted a private general practitioner two days later, with symptoms of fever, headache, malaise, a sore throat and a cough.