CONFIRMING weekend rumours of Covid-19 in St Lucia, the St Lucia Ratepayers Association (RPA) has hit out against incorrect information disseminated earlier today (Monday) by KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu.
Of a group of six French tourists – not German as the MEC stated – who arrived in St Lucia from Mpumalanga on Friday and who had been tested for the Coronavirus before leaving Nelspruit, one tested positive.
On Saturday the doctor who had tested the tourists in Nelspruit made contact with a St Lucia community member in an attempt to inform the tourist of the test results.
After activating community structures, the group of tourists was located on a cruise boat which was immediately placed on lockdown while awaiting the authorities.
A Department of Health doctor arrived after some hours and the patient was taken to Manguzi Hospital for treatment and quarantine.
The remaining five tourists are under quarantine in their accommodation in St Lucia.
‘Fortunately, there were no other guests at this establishment,’ said the St Lucia RPA in a statement earlier this evening.
The remaining seven South African passengers on the boat were quarantined at their accommodation until their departure today and would be monitored at their homes by the department.
‘The St Lucia community immediately identified all premises these tourists had visited and firstly closed them and then sanitised them.
‘The tour boat and buildings were thoroughly sanitised by iSimangaliso’s cleaning contractors.’
The RPA said increased sanitation measures and reduced boat capacity limits have been put in place.
‘It is unfortunate that no action was taken to secure these tourists in Mpumalanga after displaying symptoms of the virus and being tested.
‘We need to emphasise at this point that there was no explicit instruction to tour operators and B&Bs to screen foreign tourists.’
Meanwhile, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has shut down specific resorts under its jurisdiction, including Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park’s Hilltop and Mpila resorts, as well as Tendele, Kosi Bay, Mantuma and St Lucia.
‘Both staff and guests are affected,’ said Ezemvelo spokesperson Musa Mntambo.
‘The park managers have been instructed to ensure that all people locked inside the park are supplied with relevant necessities.
‘Only essential services like law enforcement and suppliers will be allowed to enter these parks but they have also been instructed to minimise interaction with people locked inside the park.’
Guests inside these resorts can leave only once testing negative for Covid-19 after a 14-day quarantine period.
All bookings to affected resorts will be cancelled and no new bookings can be made within the next 30 days.
ALSO READ: Churches urged to adhere to coronavirus precautions
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
