A Durban woman who was arrested for fraud at King Shaka International Airport and then joked she had the coronavirus has been released on R5 000 bail and ordered to remain in isolation.
The 55-year-old Umhlanga woman was returning from India when police nabbed her shortly after landing, reports the Post.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo says the woman was arrested on a fraud warrant for an unrelated matter that was opened in Sandton SAPS.
On Monday, the woman appeared in court and was released on R5 000 bail.
According to NPA spokesperson, Natasha Kara-Ramkissoon, the woman claimed on arrest she had Covid-19 and as part of her bail conditions was ordered to remain in isolation until her next court appearance on 20 March.
ARREST: Woman said she had Covid-19 at airport
National Department of Health spokesperson Popo Maja confirmed that the woman claimed she had coronavirus and then later said she was joking.
“She said she just wanted to scare. The reason we did not test her is because she did not meet the case definition. She did not have high temperatures.
“She appeared to be ill and was taken for medical attention,” said Naidoo.
A total of seven people have now tested positive for Covid-19 in the country.
They are from a group of 10 people who returned from vacation in northern Italy.
South Africa has pledged 800,000 N95 respiratory masks to Italy, where some 16 million people are now under quarantine, and the death toll neared 500 as Premier Giuseppe Conte placed the entire country on lockdown.
According to the World Health Organisation, the global death toll from Covid-19 is around 4,000, with more than 109,000 confirmed cases.