More coronavirus cases being investigated as Mkhize labels disease ‘explosive’

Speaking at a media briefing to elaborate on the national state of disaster announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday evening as well as the government’s planned interventions for the coronavirus outbreak, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced that his department is investigating the possibility of a further four unconfirmed cases.

This was in addition to the 61 confirmed cases as of Sunday night, as well as the first confirmed cases of person-to-person transmission within the country’s borders. 

Limpopo has its first confirmed case, a doctor.

“Those cases of internal transmission will only be confirmed once we have all the information,” said Mkhize before adding that a number of steps needed to be completed before the department could publicly confirm them for sure. 

Of the citizens that presented themselves for repatriation from China, four had to stay behind as they had displayed symptoms that were deemed concerning by authorities. 

The minister reiterated that this did not mean that they had tested positive for the virus at the time, and they were simply left behind as a precautionary measure. 

While the minister was not able to provide further numbers regarding what could happen in South Africa, he cautioned that delayed action in treating symptoms of getting tested could overwhelm the country’s health system. 

He added that most people would present only mild symptoms and only about 15% of people with the virus would require hospitalisation. 

Additionally, only 5% would require intensive care. 

He labelled the rise in coronavirus cases from one person to 51 people over a 10-day period “explosive”. 

He advocated for an approach of curbing this exponential growth by taking serious measures to limit its spread. 

“We are going to be taking measures where we are calling for restrictions,” said Mkhize. 

He did not outline what these would be but deferred to the other ministers who were present at the briefing to elaborate further.

Mkhize touched on the increasing risk of person-to-person transmission as this posed a specific problem for the makeup of South African society and how people interacted on a daily basis. 

In light of the Wits student who tested positive, Mkhize confirmed that his department was working with Wits in order to map out a way forward for that institution in dealing with the case and curbing transmission of the infection.

This is a developing story.

READ NEXT: Ramaphosa declares national disaster as Covid-19 cases rise to 61, and SA heads for lockdown

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