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5 NEW COVID-19 CASES

By Zwelihle Sukati | 2020-05-23

A total of 81 results were received yesterday, of which 76 tested negative and five were positive for coronavirus. The total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases to date is 225. The update was issued by Health Minister Lizzie Nkosi yesterday.

She added that the cumulative confirmed number of COVID-19 positive health care workers was 33. “However, it is encouraging that 10 of them have recovered after having two negative tests, another 10 is in the process of recovering and already have one negative test and awaiting the second test. The rest are clinically stable and none is in a serious condition.”

She said the cumulative graph exhibited an upward trend even though the daily graph may show very low or no case in some days.

“The practice of the public health measures by the public is very important in slowing down the spread of coronavirus within the population. All five new cases are from the Manzini region.

“Factors impacting case finding:

The ministry of health would like to emphasise on the importance of cooperating with health advice as follows:

1) The public is advised to continue with the practice of good hand hygiene, cough etiquette, physical distancing, wearing of masks and self-isolation.

2) Patients put on home care and those awaiting results are expected to adhere to self-isolation advice which include using a single room at home without sharing, keeping a physical distance whenever other people are encountered and wearing of masks to avoid contaminating surfaces.

3) Senior citizens above 60 years are encouraged and expected to comply with hospital admission arrangements when they are confirmed to be COVID-19 positive. This is very important for their own health benefit since the documented risk factors for coronavirus include advanced age and the presence of other medical conditions.

“The ministry of health wishes to thank all front line staff in this COVID-19 fight.

“These include; medical professionals, security forces, all essential workers and leaders among others. Their dedication and selfless commitment is highly appreciated and noticed by Emaswati.

“Covid-19 is an infection with evolving events which means the approach will continuously be marked by changes.

“We would like to assure the nation that the ministry of health is committed to bringing about all necessary changes in the intervention, thus reshaping the country’s response to the pandemic,” said Nkosi.

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