High court orders Mpumalanga quarantine site to shut down

The Pretoria High Court ruled that the Zithabiseni quarantine site in Mpumalanga must close immediately due to its poor conditions.

The court also ordered the government to give reasons on why the site was chosen for quarantine purposes within two weeks.

According to eNCA, approximately 100 people have lodged complaints about six other government-owned quarantine sites that are reported to be in poor condition.

The department of public works and infrastructure had budgeted R28 million for quarantine sites at private hotels, like the ranch in Limpopo, where South Africans repatriated from China were hosted, but many of the 4,400 people currently in quarantine, were staying at government-owned resorts, like Zithabiseni.

ALSO READ: Quarantine capacity not a problem with returnees, communication is – health dept.

According to Freedom Front Plus MP Philip Van Staden, people at the sites including Lephalale, Upington, Modimolle and Springbok had approached the party for assistance regarding the matter.

“All of these complaints were actually about lack of electricity, lack of hygiene, lack of water, lack of food, lack of beds. And the photos we received while we are getting these complaints you can see the facilities are not very good,” said Van Staden.

Van Staden said repatriated citizens complained about being housed at the Transnet facility since a month ago, but Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille, said this week her department did not approve this facility.

On Monday, Afriforum claimed the government denied their medical team to test a group of residents at the Zithabeseni quarantine site after they offered to assist.

The organisation said it arranged for a medical team to visit the site on Sunday to test approximately 107 residents for Covid-19, but were denied entry.

AfriForum’s deputy chief executive Ernst Roets said they did not believe the Zithabiseni met the standards set down by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

READ NEXT: De Lille tells officials responsible for repatriation blunder to pay out of their own pockets.

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