Limpopo records its first Covid-19 recovery

A 28-year-old doctor, who was the province’s first confirmed case of Covid-19 after returning from a trip to Europe, has now tested negative.

Limpopo health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba welcomed the news in a statement issued on Monday and commended the doctor’s self-discipline because he “immediately self-quarantined after his return from overseas and also self-isolated after testing positive”.

According to the statement, he is now ready to be integrated back into society.

“This must also give hope to the community to say, if we do what is right, we can contain the spread of this disease,” said Ramathuba.

Limpopo now has 13 laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 cases including the aforementioned recovered case. The national health department has already reportedly excluded the recovery from the statistics of confirmed cases.

“Of all the cases, Limpopo has only one case which is suspected to be a local transmission. Further investigations are still being done to ascertain this fact,” added the department.

Covid-19 infections per district: 

Waterberg

Currently, Waterberg District is still leading with six cases. Three of these are of a Western Cape family that travelled to Europe and upon return self-quarantined and isolated themselves in a farm Waterberg. The other three are of a Japanese national who travelled home, an Australian national who also travelled home and a Zimbabwean national who has just recently arrived in South Africa.

Capricorn

Capricorn has so far recorded four cases including the recoveree. The other three are a 44-year-old female who travelled to London. Upon return, she did not self-quarantine although she was coming from a high-risk area. However, upon confirming her test as positive, all her contacts were traced, screened and tested and none has tested positive. The other cases are of another 44-year-old who has just recently returned from a cruise ship in the Portuguese Island and a 54-year-old male who travelled to Nigeria.

Vhembe

Vhembe has recorded two cases. A 54-year-old female who travelled to the United States of America and a 45-year-old female with no travel history (suspected local transmission)

Mopani

Mopani has recorded a single case. This is the case of a 30-year-old who was tested in Gauteng and didn’t self-quarantine but instead came back to Limpopo. He has since been arrested and taken to an isolation site at the Modimolle MDR TB Hospital. The tracer team are busy tracing his contacts in order to ensure that they are screened and tested.

Sekhukhune

Sekhukhune remains the only district in the province with no confirmed cases.

The MEC called on the people of Limpopo to exercise maximum discipline during this period of lockdown.

MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba at Mantsole Weigh Bridge on the N1 North where the department is screening all people entering Limpopo. pic.twitter.com/zXFiT4Ezl4

— Limpopo Department of Health (@HealthLimpopo) March 24, 2020

“Our people must adhere to the rules of this lockdown because this is the only way we can be able to contain the spread of the virus. We are already recording deaths in other provinces and that must knock sense to many of us to say if we are not vigilant enough by doing what is right, soon we will be seeing deaths in our doorstep,” she said.

Ramathuba also welcomed the decision by the president to declare The Ranch hotel as a green zone.

“We must re-emphasise the words by the president that lockdown is the only solution towards defeating Covid-19 learning from 114 repatriates who, despite coming from the epicenter of Covid-19, they all tested negative. We therefore as a province took a decision to force isolate all those who tested positive rather than allowing them for self-isolation,” concluded Ramathuba.

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