Premier leads testing and tracking for coronavirus in Setjwetla
ALEXANDRA – Several turn up for corona testing by Makhura's team in Setjwetla
Premier David Makhura visited Setjwetla informal settlement on 1 April together with masked and gloved officials armed with sanitisers to begin the tracking testing for the coronavirus.
The settlement which is separated from Alexandra township by Florence Mophosho Avenue, is where the first person from Alex tested positive for the coronavirus. He was traced, found and quarantined in Limpopo while five people he came in contact with in Setjwetla were put in isolation. Makhura introduced the tracking and testing system as additional mitigating measures, particularly in challenging areas where there are concerns about the stigma of such an exercise. Without testing, this would leave informal and rural areas most vulnerable to the spread of the virus because of their overcrowding, compromised health and hygiene, unreliable water supplies, use of bucket toilets and isolation from health facilities.
The team of health professionals including MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Lebogang Maile and other city officials are part of the 10 000 field workers promised by President Cyril Ramaphosa to visit such areas.
From mid-morning, they took swab tests and personal contact details from those who tested in case they needed to be tracked. The exercise will continue in East Bank and clinics in Region E which will include Petervale clinic on Witkoppen Road and Sandown clinic in Sandton on Maud Street.
Later in the day, the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize who was in KwaZulu-Natal urged for affected areas and infected people not be stigmatised but approached with compassion and understanding. “They [community members] should, in hotspot areas, come forward to be tested if showing symptoms or were in touch with anyone suspected of having the virus,” he said
Mkhize also urged the police and military officials to carry their personal identification on them to enhance trust in the communities. This following complaint about heavy-handed enforcement of the lockdown by some officials. He urged the communities to unite and work with health officials.
“The real truth is that the virus is an infectious organism that spreads fast. Using mobile technology will enhance extensive tracking and rapid deployment to those who were in contact with those confirmed to be infected, and help to monitor the geographical location of new cases in real-time.”
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