Minister announces Limpopo resort as official Coronavirus quarantine site
The Ranch Resort has officially been announced as the official site for repatriated South Africans amid the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, also referred to as the Coronavirus.
POLOKWANE – A short while ago, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Corona virus, headed by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize along with members of the Limpopo Cabinet, officially made this announcement.
The Ranch Resort will only serve as a quarantine site for observation purposes, and not an isolation site (for citizens who might have contracted the virus), the minister confirmed.
“The repatriation was done as a humanitarian act as these citizens have been quarantined in China after the virus broke out. The families then requested to Department of International Relations that they be brought back after having spent weeks in quarantine.”
Addressing the media, Mkize emphasised that none of the citizens was reported sick and none of them have contracted the virus.
“It is the duty of the defence force to ensure citizens of South Africa are brought back safely. This was also an instruction from the President, Cyril Ramaphosa. A team of specialists and experts was appointed to ensure they are brought back safely. They include SANDF members and health officials.”
The Ranch Resort will only be used as a quarantine area, with the isolation venue yet to be confirmed, he said.
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Mkhize added that the testing for COVID-19 will be decentralised from the National Health Laboratory Service, to include provincial and private laboratory services.
The commitee also released the test results of Limpopo students who are back in the province after they had travelled to China.
Mkhize said all the students had tested negative for COVID-19.
