Devastating news has just come in from the Department of Health. Minister Zweli Mkhize has confirmed the first known case of coronavirus in South Africa.
Coronavirus in South Africa: What we know about the first patient
In a series of tweets, the health department revealed that the first known case of coronavirus in South Africa was recorded on the morning of 5 March.
A 38-year-old male who returned to South Africa, from a trip to Italy with his wife, tested positive for COVID-19. This, the ministry said, has been confirmed by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).
“The patient is a 38-year-old male who travelled to Italy with his wife. They were part of a group of 10 people and they arrived back in South Africa on March 1, 2020. The patient consulted a private general practitioner on March 3, with symptoms of fever, headache, malaise, a sore throat and a cough. The practise nurse took swabs & delivered it to the lab. The patient has been self-isolating since March 3,” the department tweeted.
The NICD has not issued updates on the patient’s condition in quarantine, at this time. Information on the whereabouts of his wife and two children are also unknown.
There is a two-day period, between Sunday 1 March and Tuesday 3 March, where the patient could have come into contact with many others who have not shown signs of illness as yet.
It has also been established that the couple had travelled from Italy with 10 other passengers who, we believe, have not yet been tracked and moved to quarantine sites for testing.
We will keep issuing updates on the latest developments around this widespread COVID-19.
The death rate of the coronavirus has increased to 3.5% with more than 3 000 casualties reported around the world. There has been no vaccine developed to counter the virus at this time.