Mkhize intervenes to have Khayelitsha Covid-19 case quarantined

30 March 2020 

The ANC in the Western Cape Legislature wants to thank Health Minister Zweli Mkhize for his urgent intervention to move the Covid-19 case in Khayelitsha into quarantine. 

A mother was diagnosed with Covid-19 at a Khayelitsha Day Hospital and was an obvious health risk, but Western Cape health authorities seemingly had no plan to place her under quarantine. 

Earlier today, following the Ministerial intervention, the mother, her child and childminder were placed in immediate isolation.

We understand that earlier she and her child were kept in isolation for hours in Khayelitsha without being attended to or given food, as nurses and doctors did not know how to handle her.  Her family, which has been in close contact with her for over a week, remained in her two-roomed home.

The patient was only moved after the ANC contacted Minister Mkhize as a matter of urgency and also in the interest of the patient and the community.

“We were happy that the Minister saw the urgency of the situation, contacted the Western Cape Health MEC who then subsequently moved the patient, her child and the childminder to a quarantine site.

“We want to appeal to Western Cape health authorities to wake up to the gravity of the coronavirus. Suspected cases should not be allowed to languish in hospitals but should be quarantined immediately. Those who had been in contact with these patients should also be tested.” 

We call on the Provincial Government to minimize the risk of more infections by urgently tracing and putting into isolation people who have been in contact with the 310 who tested positive for Covid-19 in the Western Cape.

The ANC also calls on the Provincial Government to have a sense of urgency in responding to the Covid-19 positive cases, especially in poor communities. We also urgently call on the people to respect and abide by the lockdown regulations.

The ANC Shadow MEC for Health, Ms Rachel Windvogel, said: “The provincial government’s response to this emergency has been really disappointing. The inept response to the Khayelitsha situation and the treatment the patient received is very regrettable. If a provincial government can be so clumsy in responding to only one case, what will happen when we have recorded over 10 cases?”

Issued by Rachel Windvogel, ANC Shadow MEC for Health in the Western Cape Legislature, 30 March 2020