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Mkhize: Our Role Is To Limit Spread Of Covid-19 In SA

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize gives an update on the coronavirus situation in South Africa on 13 March 2020. Picture: Abigail Javier/EWN

With eight new cases of coronavirus confirmed in South Africa, the Health Department said that more positive results had come out and these were currently undergoing a further verification process.

The department said that it would make further announcements once the results have been scrutinised by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).

So far, there were 24 known infections of COVID-19 in the country.

The latest announcement by the Health Department came as South Africans waited for the arrival of 122 citizens being repatriated from China.

Once landed, they would stay in quarantine at a ranch resort in Polokwane for about 21 days.

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said that the department was continuously working to stop the spread of the disease.

“All the patients that have been reported as positive have actually been travellers, so they would have imported the infection. Our role is to make sure that we limit the spread of those who have come from outside. It does require quite a lot of cooperation.”

The newly-announced cases of coronavirus were from travellers who came into the country from various nations, including Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Greece.

Mkhize said that more than 800 people here at home had been tested so far.

EWN

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