The new coronavirus (Covid-19) is spreading fast. As of this writing, there were more than 804, 061 confirmed cases of Covid-19 around the world, compared to 670,000 24 hours earlier, and “just” 300,000 one week earlier. In South Africa there are 1326 registered cases and three people have already lost their lives.
While most cases of fatalities have been confined to Italy, there is an increase of fatal cases recorded in Spain and other countries. The number of cases is beginning to decrease in China but is spreading in the rest of the world.
The Gauteng Department of Health says those who believed they had Covid-19 symptoms should visit their nearest clinic as soon as possible.
Gauteng Health spokesperson Philani Mhlungu said they would assist and advise accordingly from the clinics if there was a need to escalate the matter to a hospital. He said if people went to any state clinic, they would be checked.
“If you have symptoms you can go to a nearest health facility and they’ll advise accordingly. There is a criterion that is used by the National Institute for Communication (NICD) if you are presenting symptoms and if your travel history is linked to affected countries.
“Please call NICD toll free number on 0800 029 999 in addition to going to the nearest health facility,” he said.
People may experience:
- runny nose
- sore throat
- cough
- fever
- difficulty breathing
Treatment:
– no vaccines or antiviral drugs available.
- symptoms can be treated.
Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that government will roll out an extensive field screening programme to get South Africans tested for the coronavirus as the number of Covid-19-infected people has risen to 1326.
Ramaphosa announced the screening programme on Monday night. He said the programme will see 10 000 field workers visit people’s homes to test for the virus in urban and rural areas.
