The Department of Health has confirmed that a South African woman who recently travelled to Italy had contracted the deadly COVID- 19. This second case of the virus in the country was announced by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize today.
Another South African man who works in South Korea also tested positive for the COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus.
The latest case of the 39-year-old woman from Gauteng follows that of a man from KwaZulu-Natal, reportedly the first case of the disease in the country.
“She was part of the group of 10 that had travelled to Italy. The public must be notified that we have information and know the whereabouts of all the other 10 people who were part of the group,” said Mkhize.
“All those who came back to South Africa are currently being tested. We are now awaiting their test results to come out. Since being traced, they have remained in isolation to avoid any further contact with third parties. The second patient, who has now tested positive for COV-19, will now be immediately admitted to a public health facility in Gauteng that government has identified as one of the hospitals that are ready to receive COVID-19 positive patients.”
We are now following all the protocols that we have already publicly announced to the public in dealing with these cases,” said Mkhize.
Meanwhile, the department is trying to get formal confirmation on another citizen diagnosed with the disease.
“We also wish to notify the public that our embassy has advised us that a 39-year-old male South African who works in Daegu, South Korea, has also tested positive for COVID-19. He was due to return to South Africa and has since remained in South Korea. We are now following up with the South Korean authorities, firstly to obtain formal confirmation of this case, and also the details of where our citizen is being treated.”
