By Zwelihle Sukati | 2020-03-14

In what will come as very disturbing news, the ministry of health of the Kingdom of Eswatini has confirmed its first case COVID-19, a condition caused by coronavirus.

This was announced by Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi in a statement released yesterday.

Even worse is the fact that the ministry is waiting for laboratory results of 12 other suspected cases. “The country has registered the first case of COVID-19, a condition caused by coronavirus, on the 13th March, 2020,” announced the minister in her released statement.

It is said a 33-year-old woman returned from the United States of America by the end February and proceeded for a business meeting in Lesotho.

The woman came back on March 7 and was later seen by a private practitioner who took samples for laboratory testing on Wednesday.

“The test was confirmed positive in a South Africa laboratory.

The patient is stable and has been taken for isolation and monitoring,” Minister Nkosi said. However, as the nation was still waiting for the outcome of the earlier reported two suspect cases, the minister said those were found negative.

“The other two suspected cases reported earlier by the ministry have been found negative,” she said in her statement, before announcing that the ministry was waiting for laboratory results for 12 other fresh suspected cases in the country.   She said contact tracing to the already confirmed single case has begun and the nation will be kept abreast.   “The ministry of health would like to encourage the public to remain at high alert for the coronavirus. You are, therefore, urged to observe preventative measures,” she said.

 “The ministry of health will continue to monitor this situation as it evolves and will inform the public of any further developments.” Meanwhile, South Africa’s tally of positive coronavirus cases has jumped to 24, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed yesterday, according to foreign media reports.

Yesterday, the IOL News reported that Mkhize said that country’s government confirmed eight new positive cases of the coronavirus.

Mkhize is said to have been addressing the media outside the Limpopo resort where repatriates will be housed for at least the next two weeks. All of the eight positive cases were from European countries, including Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Greece. 

 The eight new cases are spread in three provinces, Gauteng with the most at four, and the KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape provinces with two each. Mkhize said more than 800 tests had been done so far. 

He pleaded for the coronavirus patients to be afforded their privacy, asking the media not to approach schools and spouses.  “You end up treating them as if they are criminals,” he is said to have scolded.  Mkhize clarified again that there was no domestic transmission of the coronavirus in the Free State.

 The health department had said a local came into contact with a Chinese businessman. The results were later found to be negative.  According to the total number of infections by province, Gauteng is now tied with KwaZulu-Natal as the most Covid-19-stricken province in the neighbouring country, with 10 cases each. Next is the Western Cape with three, followed by Mpumalanga with one person confirmed have tested positive for the coronavirus

CORONAVIRUS PREVENTIVE MEASURES

1. Cover nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
2. Wash hands regularly with soap and water
3. Open windows in buses and venues where people congregate
4. If you have fever, cough, and difficulty breathing or flue-like symptoms and a history of travel seek medical assistance.
5. Health workers should screen all patients and take a detailed history of anyone presenting with flue-like symptoms

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