Durban - Police officers have begun visiting Covid-19 screening and testing centres on Thursday, after a member tested positive for Covid-19 at Phoenix police station north of Durban.
The police officer who works in the front line dealing with the public at the Community Services Centre fell ill last week.
He had another medical problem according to people familiar with him and doctors at a local hospital advised him to conduct a Covid-19 test.
His result came back positive on Wednesday which led to panic among police officers who had been in contact with him on his last shift on Sunday.
It is alleged that police officers had shared the same vehicle and came into contact with the infected member several times including handling dockets.
The Democratic Alliance spokesperson for Community Safety in KwaZulu-Natal MPL Sharon Hoosen addressed the concerns of a detective who has tested positive with Provincial Commissioner General Khombinkosi Jula on the health and safety measures that must be put in place at Phoenix Police Station.
The Department of Health must intervene urgently to ensure that all SAPS officers at this station are tested.
The DA is also requesting that the station is sanitized with urgency. She said tracking and tracing of members who have been in contact with the positive member be completed.
"If more officers are positive the station should be closed and make available a temporary station available to continue to assist the community. SAPS officers are the frontline officers who are they to enforce the law and protect citizens,"Hoosen said.
KwaZulu-Natal has 2186 confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of Thursday morning whole the national death toll of Covi-19 related deaths stood at 552.