Word of this development came from Acting Health MEC, Thembeni Nxangisa who on Friday led a media briefing at Bophelo House on measures the provincial government is undertaking to contain the resurgence of COVID-19 in the area. 

Nxangisa further confirmed that the Premier’s husband, Madala David Ntombela, who also tested positive for Covid-19, has also recovered from the virus.  

In his address, Nxangisa, as someone who has also recovered from Covid-19, implores the public to take the pandemic seriously and recognise that all are vulnerable to it, irrespective our socio-economic standing.

Nxangisa reveals that he contracted the virus at the same time as his wife, and they were admitted to the same healthcare facility for treatment. “We could not speak to each other except through telephone or video chat. It was very terrifying. Imagine if we did not survive? It’s a very painful and deadly disease,” recalls Nxangisa.
 
Free State Education MEC, Tate Makgoe, tested positive for the virus in July 2020, at the same time as Nxangisa and his wife. All three were admitted in a local hospital at the same time.
 
The Acting Health ME,C who is in fact the MEC of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the province, acknowledged in his address that the Free State, with 349 cases over the last 24 hours, appears to be facing a resurgence “not because we are reckless, but because Covid-19 has simply deepened our vulnerabilities. 

"We did extremely well at the beginning to contain the spread through our dedicated tracking and tracing. However, the uncontrollable movement of people and unprotected interactions coupled by the complexity of the virus have clearly overwhelmed our capacity to curb its spread over time”.
 
Public Health Specialist, Sammy Mokoena revealed in his address that they are seeing a rising number of Covid-19 positive patients between the ages of 15 and 25 years. This has been attributed to school activities and the reinvigoration of the social scene.

OFM News