Limpopo: Repatriated group adjusting well, says Ranch Resort Manager
Even though it is a sensitive time for all involved, the repatriated group is relaxing and adjusting to life as they’ve now come to know it. These were the words of The Ranch Resort General Manager, Paul Shearer, on how the group of 104 repatriated South African are adjusting to their quarantine period.
POLOKWANE – They arrived at the resort on Saturday.“It really is a state of emergency which affects all South Africans. We took this decision against the background of the best interest in terms of the wellness of South Africans,” he told Review.
The group, which was repatriated from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, are residing in quarantine for a period of 21 days.
The Ranch Resort is a family-owned leisure, sports, exhibition, conservation, accommodation and conferencing centre within a 1 000 hectare conservancy, located 25 kilometres south of Polokwane.
Shearer said the group was at first apprehensive about their welcome, but it was a joyful and emotional welcome that awaited them.
“They were welcomed by waving and smiling staff members who danced and sang in greeting them.”
He said the group all tested negative for COVID-19 and that regular testing and other medical procedures, to which he was not privy to answer, were conducted. As for management and staff, it is business as usual.
“We all work hard as a team to ensure that things run smoothly. We stay on the premises as well, so the stability of being on the same grounds makes this easier.”
Shearer confirmed that the resort remained off-limits in its entirety for all but the employees and the repatriated group. “Until 18 April, when their stay comes to an end, unless otherwise communicated, we will see that they stay here comfortably,” Shearer said.
Asked how the group spend their days, Shearer said they spend their time enjoying the peaceful gardens, but that there are restrictions in terms of social distance, so as to ensure no shared contact.“It is a sensitive time for all,” he said. He maintained that they took the right humanitarian decision in accommodating the group, and that after calmness prevails, all South Africans will be better off for the decision.
Shearer said after the group has been evacuated in April, the resort will embark on a thorough sanitising and deep-cleaning exercise of all rooms to ensure the hotel is virus-free, to welcome back all its loyal and regular customers.
