Since the Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s announcement that the virus has permeated the province’s borders, the OFM News team has been inundated with messages from concerned listeners and readers wanting to know where in the Free State the 32-year-old man originates from. This is South Africa’s first case of local transmission after he tested positive for COVID-19 after being in contact with an overseas businessman.

OFM News interviewed a Bloemfontein resident of Asian descent who has asked to remain anonymous regarding some of the verbal abuse that has allegedly been directed at Asian foreign nationals in Botshabelo and Bloemfontein since the coronavirus outbreak in December 2019.

The Bloemfontein resident, who has been living in the country for ten years, says she was informed by a South African colleague that a Chinese man had recently experienced xenophobic attitudes from people at a local mall in Botshabelo. She also spoke of a family from the Philippines that reported being verbally insulted by fellow customers at a Bloemfontein fast-food company. She points out that no specifics were given about the overseas businessman in the minister’s statement today - something she fears will fuel hatred towards foreign nationals.

The OFM News team’s attempts to gather specifics following the announcement have been unsuccessful with the provincial Health Department’s spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, referring all media questions to the national office.

There are now 17 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, spread across five provinces, namely Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Western Cape, and Mpumalanga. Mkhize says at this stage all patients are in self-quarantine. He further says they have mild to moderate symptoms. They are also on symptomatic treatment. “Our tracing teams are now making a list and have started contacting individuals who have been identified as these patients' contacts.”

OFM News