Third case of coronavirus confirmed in SA
● Foreign missions to be rationalised through trimming staff and operational expenses
The wife of the first man to be diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus in SA has also tested positive, health minister Zweli Mkhize said yesterday.
He said test results from the couple’s children indicated that they were not infected, but they were being kept in selfquarantine as a precaution.
“She [the man’s wife] has tested positive for Covid-19 and is therefore the third confirmed case in SA,” Mkhize said.
The woman’s 38-year-old husband, from Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, tested positive for Covid-19 three days after returning from a holiday in Italy on Sunday last week — becoming SA’s first confirmed case of the virus.
Mkhize said he had spoken to the man yesterday and he was “upbeat and jovial”, and his doctor reported that he was asymptomatic.
“At the right time, as determined by the treating doctors, the patient will be retested to check his recovery progress.”
On Saturday, Mkhize announced that a second coronavirus case had been detected in SA.
The 39-year-old Gauteng woman had been in direct contact with the first case from KwaZulu-Natal and was part of a group of 10 that had travelled to Italy.
“We expect the results of the other six group members within the next 48 hours.”
One of the 10 people did not return to SA.
Mkhize said a 39-year-old SA man working in Daegu, South Korea, had also tested positive for Covid-19.
He was due to return to SA, but had since remained in South Korea.
During a briefing at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Sunday afternoon, Mkhize said there were highly trained nurses and doctors at hand to tackle Covid-19.
“What are we fearing? What we fear is that there is a history of coronavirus that attacked and killed many people.
“We are ready to deal with it as an emergency,” Mkhize said.
Mkhize said trained medical staff at hospitals used a “specific gown” when treating coronavirus-affected patients.
“The gown covers your head, eyes, mouth, hands, body and feet. We call this barrier nursing, it covers the entire body and the nurse can treat the patient and go home and won’t infect their children.”
Mkhize said those who tested positive for the novel coronavirus would be isolated and treated.
He said it was unlikely to infect others if one did not have the symptoms.
Mkhize said once patients were treated and tests came back negative, they could go back to their daily lives.
“It is like a flu, once treated it is gone. Go back to life.”
Mkhize said there had been no confirmed cases of infected South Africans in Wuhan, China.
“Some are now pulling out and saying they do not to want to come back.
“We will bring back those who want to come back and leave those who want to stay, it is not a problem.
“There is no reason to worry about those who are coming back to SA.
“There is no risk of infection to the local community and we will make sure of that,” he said.
Meanwhile, contrary to a bogus voice note that did the rounds on social media at the weekend, there are no coronavirus cases in the Eastern Cape, according to Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.
In the voice note, a man is heard saying that a case of coronovirus was detected at Livingstone Hospital.
He claims he was told this by the wife of a doctor at the hospital.
However, Kupelo said the voice note was a hoax and urged people to stop spreading fake news.
“It is not true.
“There has been no case detected,” he said.
Kupelo said 16 people had been tested at the hospital since the outbreak of the virus.
“This has likely resulted in the bogus voice note being circulated.
“If a case is detected it will be made public by the health minister.”
Kupelo said the department would take legal action against people spreading false information about the coronavirus in the province.
According to Kupelo, a woman, who falsely presented herself as potentially being infected with the virus, checked herself in at Grey Hospital in King William’s Town on Friday.
The woman had claimed to be an employee of a man she said had recently returned from Italy with the virus.
“She refused to give staff her information and that of the faceless man she had claimed was her employer,” Kupelo said.
“But upon verification and speaking with her family, it was established the woman had fabricated the story as her relatives confirmed she is unemployed.”
Doctors and nurses had “run around” testing the woman, and taking steps to ensure she was medically isolated.
“This was a childish and selfish hoax by the woman that is condemned with the contempt it deserves,” he said.
“People who yearn for attention should seek other means to get the spotlight instead of lying about a global health crisis.
“Because of the seriousness of the coronavirus, the Eastern Cape department of health will open a case with the police against the woman who lied about having the virus.”
The government is forging ahead with plans to trim the size of its diplomatic missions as it battles to cut costs and return SA to financial health.
Without providing timelines, international relations minister Naledi Pandor said in parliament last week that her department was undertaking a process of rationalisation of its foreign missions.
“Staff reductions have been introduced as part of this process; the department has established a task team on the repositioning of SA’s gobal presence,” Pandor said.
The task team had produced a draft report with a set of recommendations and the draft was being considered, she said.
An analysis by the Treasury found that SA’s cost-of-living allowances for its diplomatic staff were 60% higher than those paid to US staff and 40%50% higher than those for UN staff, who also pay their own accommodation — unlike SA staff.
SA’s foreign missions, which fall under the department of international relations and cooperation, play a crucial role in maintaining diplomatic relationships with the rest of the world.
The work of the department is primarily realised through 125 diplomatic missions in 108 countries in which SA has representation.
The missions are tasked with facilitating international trade, investment and tourism, and strengthening political and social ties with host countries.
They also articulate SA’s position in global and regional multilateral forums such as the UN and AU.
According to budget documents tabled in parliament in February, as the department largely relies on its personnel to perform its functions, an estimated 45.6% (R9.8bn) of its total expenditure over the medium term is earmarked for compensation of employees.
This includes the foreign service wage bill, allowances payable to transferred staff in terms of the foreign service dispensation policy, membership fees payable to international organisations, and the development and maintenance of infrastructure in foreign missions.
Spending on compensation of employees is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 5.9%, from R2.9bn in 2019/2020 to R3.4bn in 2022/2023.
Total expenditure is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 4%, from R6.5bn in 2019/2020 to R7.3bn in 2022/2023.
The Treasury said over the medium term the department would also seek to reduce its rental portfolio and operational costs associated with the rental of more than 1,000 properties abroad and ensure the longevity of its 127 state-owned properties by conducting essential maintenance, repairs and renovations.
The department would focus on developing vacant state-owned land in Luanda, New Delhi, and Gaborone, and renovating state-owned properties in Mbabane, The Hague, Windhoek, Walvis Bay and Brasilia.
This was expected to lead to a decrease in expenditure on leases.
The department also plans to assess the condition of its properties in Europe that are more than 50 years old, particularly in London, Paris, Vienna), Rome, Brussels, Madrid and Copenhagen, to inform decisions on their future holding and use.
“For these capital investment objectives, R1.2bn over the medium term has been set aside in the office accommodation subprogramme in the administration programme,” the Treasury document stated.