The department of health in Gauteng has assured that a video of monkeys swimming in black water tankers was not taken from its public health facilities.
In a statement, the department said the Jubilee District Hospital in Hammanskraal and other healthcare facilities across Gauteng do not use black water tankers.
“The department’s health facilities use green JoJo tankers and the water supplied by local authorities and water utilities to our hospitals and clinics is clean and can be used for human consumption and other services,” it said.
It called out the people who are circulating the video, saying it is irresponsible behaviour to circulate unverified content which spreads lies about water provision in healthcare facilities, adding that this has the potential to cause panic among patients, families and communities.
“The same video was shared earlier this year and those who shared it insinuated that it was depicting the situation at Helen Joseph Hospital at the time, when the facility was experiencing water supply shortages.”
The video was first shared in April 2022 by V6 News, a YouTube channel. The channel captioned the video: “Monkeys bath in water tanks in Narsingapur.”
The department is urging social media users and the public to condemn any material that seeks to mislead and cause unnecessary panic, especially among poor people who rely heavily on public health facilities.
“We encourage the public to report [social media] pages that continue to use and distribute such content,” it said.
“Anyone that creates or spreads fake news about the department of health or any other facility can be charged with crimen injuria and is liable for prosecution.
“People can access reliable information from all department of health social media platforms including through trusted sources such as established media outlets.”
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