KZN Health MEC condemns lab worker for spreading false news on Coronavirus

THE KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health has taken action against a national lab worker for spreading misinformation on the Coronavirus.

A voice note doing the rounds on social media of a woman spreading false rumours of a mass “panic” at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital due to a number of patients being infected with the covid-19 virus.

The hospital has since denied this.

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The woman in the voice note has been tracked down and she works for the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), a state-owned laboratory service which hosts the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) as one of its subsidiaries.

It is still unclear at what capacity the woman is employed at by the NHLS.

Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, MEC for Health said the woman will be facing disciplinary action and called for people to not disseminate unverified information.

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“While the production and dissemination of fake news is a global problem, it is unbecoming of state employees to involve themselves in such malicious conduct. They really should know better,” she said.

The MEC said only Dr Zweli Mkhize, the Health Minister, is authorised to confirm any news cases of Coronavirus after lab tests have been done.

This weekend, the Department of Health confirmed the third case of Coronavirus, the wife of the first patient.

The woman is also self-isolating, said the department.

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