Madoda Sambatha says he is now in isolation with no symptoms and continues to do his work virtually, while he is set to go for testing on Friday. This comes after the late MEC Gordon Kegakilwe, MEC Saliva Molapisi and premier Job Mokgoro all tested positive for the virus. Kegakilwe died on Monday after a cardiac arrest due to Covid-19 complications at a Hospital in Klerksdorp while Molapisi and Mokgoro are recovering in quarantine.

Meanwhile, Sambatha issued what he calls a red alert to residents in the province during the sharp increase in the number of positive cases and deaths. He has warned them to abide by Covid-19 regulations by keeping social distancing, wearing masks, sanitising and avoiding unnecessary travel.

"All Districts are now implementing a ward-based screening and contact tracing programme. The Department has now conducted 5 049 941 Community based screenings, with 6 172 referrals. Out of 6 842 confirmed cases, 1 574 recoveries have been confirmed," he adds. Sambatha says as part of the preparation for an expected surge, the province now has 435 standard Covid-19 beds, 33 high care beds and 55 intensive care unit beds in public and private hospitals.

OFM News on Thursday reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa has granted Kegakilwe a provincial official funeral category 1, and also ordered that the national flag flies at half-mast from Thursday until the evening of the funeral.  Kegakilwe will be laid to rest on Friday 10 July.

The province also announced a total of 325 new covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours. The province has about 5 655 active cases after 1 456 patients recovered from the virus, and 36 deaths were recorded.

OFM News