Ulundi Municipality tests its employees for Covid-19

The Ulundi Local Municipal Council has resolved to fund the Covid-19 testing of all its 400 employees and councillors, at the advice of Municipal Manager (MM)
Mr Nkosenye Zulu. This follows the recent announcement that 19 politicians and officials from neighbouring Umthonjaneni Local Municipality have tested positive for the virus.
According to Zulu, on May 4, all essential service employees who returned to work underwent Covid-19 screening and testing conducted by the Department of Health.

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“However, to my utter dismay, not even those results are out yet, more than a month later.

“Therefore, it is only logical that rather than re-testing only those who were tested by the Department of Health in vain on May 4, 2020, Council be advised to secure a reliable testing service through Lancet directly,” indicated Zulu.
Zulu, who also chairs the local Covid-19 Joint Operations Committee (JOC) in Ulundi, also raised a concern that “the initiative sought through testing when employees resumed office was already lost owing to non-available results that could have provided early warnings and urgent evasive actions by this municipality.
“What remains now is that all employees and officials, inclusive of those with comorbidities and those over 60 years, present themselves on Friday, June 19, for private testing.”

Municipal Mayor Wilson Ntshangase, who (along with 46 other councillors) was tested on Friday, has also voiced his concern about what he termed as a grey area regarding the general screening and testing protocol by the Department of Health. Ntshangase said that what happened at Mthonjaneni Municipality “suggests that non-testing within communities leads to a misnomer in terms of the correct Covid-19 cases in an area. However, it is understood that due to financial or other considerations, not everyone can be tested.”

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