MEC for health educates taxi drivers and commuters

MEC for health, Sasekani Manzini, interacted with commuters and taxi drivers concerning the comprehensive healthcare screening service. This was during her visit to Mbombela Taxi rank on Friday. The MEC raised awareness about the importance of knowing one’s health status, handed out sanitisers and placed stickers inside taxis with health awareness messages.

According to the MEC, the Department of Health decided to visit the rank so that it can access people travelling to various areas and assist them.

“This is because we want everyone to know that it is important to know one’s status and what to do when one is diagnosed with symptoms of Covid-19. Some people do not understand how the process works. After testing positive for Covid-19 they still go shopping.

They should be at home in isolation to avoid transferring the diseases. After shopping they get into a taxi with other passengers are not aware. It is important to always wear the mask properly. If we can still see your mouth and nose then it means you are not doing it right. You need to cover both your nose and mouth,” she explained.

The interaction was not only about Covid-19. “We are screening for all the diseases. The nicest thing about us bringing these services to the public is that after being diagnosed we immediately provide you with treatment.

When it comes to HIV/Aids, things have changed. We know people can survive for many years as long as they take their treatment. The stigma of HIV/Aids is no longer there unlike in the past. People are now more educated,” she said.

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Top Star chairman, John Mavundla, said he appreciated the visit by the MEC. “We are happy to see that you visited us to educate the commuters and the drivers. We are also grateful that we were provided with sanitisers and this makes it easy for us to protect ourselves and the commuters,” he said.

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The MEC appreciated the work done by the taxi drivers and owners. “We have heard of incidents in which drivers ask passengers to get off the taxi because they do not have a mask. We appreciate that you are all working together with the department to fight this pandemic,” she said.