THE National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) has warned against stigmatising people infected with Coronavirus.
The NICD said despite there being no confirmed case of the virus in South Africa, it has noted the disturbing stigmatisation against people from affected areas which now includes Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
“Stigma has the potential to drive people to hide their illness to avoid discrimination and further prevent people from seeking healthcare. This can lead to difficulties in identifying and controlling the spread of COVID-19 should it reach our shores,” cautioned the NICD.
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As of 2 March 2020, the NICD tested a total of 160 persons for SARS-CoV-2 of which 109 met the case definition for persons under investigation (PIU). All results have been negative.
The NICD is currently the only laboratory performing testing for SARS-CoV-2 and confirmed that South Africa has not had a laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19.
“Given that COVID-19 is a new disease, it is understandable that its emergence and possible importation into South Africa may cause confusion, anxiety and fear among the general public; however, viruses do not target people from specific populations, ethnicities, or racial backgrounds,” said the NICD.
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The institute called on anyone who may develop symptoms of the Coronavirus either during or after recent travel to countries where COVID-19 is known to be circulating to seek medical care early and share information about their travel history with their healthcare providers.
Symptoms include respiratory illness including cough, fever and shortness of breath.
As of 24 February the virus is known to be circulating in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy.
The General Public Hotline Number for South Africa is 0800 029 999 and operates on weekdays, Monday to Friday, during 8am to 4pm.
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