Cape Town – The 55-year-old man arrested in Parow for spreading fake news about the Covid-19 test kits is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
The man was captured in a video that went viral on social media earlier this week, purporting contamination of Covid-19 test kits.
“The suspect has been charged in terms of Regulation 11(5)(c) of the Disaster Management Act, in relation to publishing any statement through any medium including social media with the intention to deceive any other person about measures by the government to address COVID-19,” said police.
Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said: “Over the weekend, we also saw a number of false reports around what the testing entails. One of these was a video indicating that the test swabs are contaminated.
"We strongly condemn this fake news. SAPS has indicated to us today that they are investigating this instance of spreading fake news, and I hope the appropriate steps are taken against the person responsible.
"This kind of messaging is not only inaccurate, it is also dangerous as people could put their own health, and the health of those around them, at risk by not getting tested when they should in fact get tested.”
Community screening got under way in two communities over the weekend in Happy Valley and Ilitha Park, Khayelitsha, and rolled out in a further five today.
A total of 1 492 people were screened over the weekend and 45 swabs taken.
“We must ensure that our vulnerable communities are screened and tested in greater numbers to ensure our people are protected against the spread of the Covid-19 disease.
"I was at Mbekweni in Paarl this morning to give support to our community teams and we had a huge turn-out,” said Mbombo.