Corona home tests to start in the Western Cape on Monday

From Monday, Western Cape residents can expect to be screened for Covid-19 in the comfort of their homes.

This forms part of the government’s intensified drive to stop the spread of the virus.

The number of cases countrywide stands at 1505.

The provincial Health Department will undertake targeted community screening and testing, using the identified geo-located cases of local transmission in vulnerable and high-risk communities, starting from the metro and fanning out.

This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Monday that 10 000 field workers will be visiting homes in villages, towns and cities to screen residents for Covid-19 symptoms.

The Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and Klipfontein areas were of greatest concern in the metro, said provincial Head of Health, Dr Keith Cloete.

“Our concern is that we might have community transmission in those areas,” he said.

Cloete said community health workers and NGOs would collectively embark on the community-based screening and testing.

If required, tests would be conducted at mobile testing labs.

The fieldworkers doing the screening and testing would be clearly identified, to avoid scammers taking advantage of the situation.

“We want to especially target those areas and go into households where cases have already been documented of local transmission. Our strategy as of Monday is to identify all the areas we are going into. We are putting all the logistics together so there will be screening, access to testing and, out of that, there will be a screening of someone who requires isolation and quarantine out of that process,” Cloete said.

During the digital briefing this week on the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Premier Alan Winde said: “While infections have grown more slowly here than elsewhere, we are seeing trends that are cause for concern.

“Last Sunday, we announced our first cases in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain.

“We are also seeing an increase in the number of local transmissions and increasing admissions to hospital."

Khayelitsha Development Forum chairperson Ndithini Tyhido said they were concerned following reports of the second case of a female testing positive for Covid-19.

“The fact that the two contacts come

from two areas, Town-Two and Ilitha

Park, can mean only one thing, that

Khayelitsha is under siege of Covid-19. 

“We’re calling on all businesses

and churches operating in

Khayelitsha to come forward

with whatever help they can.

Communities need to be empowered

to communicate the message about

the coronavirus in languages they

use and understand,” he said. 

UCT spokesperson Elijah

Moholola said a third student had

been diagnosed in Eswatini on

Sunday. Three staff members had

tested positive for the virus. 

Moholola said the student was

receiving medical support and

identified contacts had been traced

and advised to go into quarantine. 

“All individuals who tested

positive immediately went into

self-isolation for 14 days, and all

their identified contacts went into

quarantine as soon as they were

traced,” Moholola said. 

Cape Times

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