Stop stigmatising people and show compassion, officials plead
Stop the stigma.
That’s the word from Nelson Mandela Bay municipal officials, who say that Covid-19 patients are wary of letting others know they have tested positive.
The stigmatisation also caused a number of residents to pull out of contributing to the feature below on those who have recovered from the virus.
They withdrew when they heard that their photographs would be used.
A Motherwell family said they had been treated dreadfully and called “the corona family” when the community learned about their diagnosis and a Zwide nurse changed her mind on Friday after speaking to her family.
Nelson Mandela Bay’s Covid-19 disaster management forum said in a statement on Friday that it was concerned about stigmatisation.
Forum chair Shane Brown said that, in some cases, families who had tested positive had been chased from their homes.
“Since the announcement of the lockdown, [officials from] the department of health and the municipality’s public health directorate have crisscrossed the city doing screening, testing and contact tracing.
“The teams have noticed a trend of reluctance among people who have tested positive, and their contacts, to come out and submit themselves for isolation,” he said.
“It emerged that the main infected people and their families were fearful that if it became known they had tested positive, the community would stigmatise them.
“In some instances, infected residents and their families had even been chased out of their own communities.
“The forum has received these worrying reports.
“It is an issue that has a negative effect on contact tracing and the isolation of those who are infected.
“This will ultimately hinder our efforts to flatten the curve.
“We plead with our communities to show compassion and support individuals and families who are affected by this pandemic.
“People must understand that anyone can be infected by this virus and that immediate isolation and medical monitoring is critical.
“Work has already started to intensify our efforts through communication, raising public awareness and other means,” Brown said.