Pretoria – A case of coronavirus (Covid-19) has been confirmed at the Garsfontein Police Station in Pretoria, the South African Police Service said on Wednesday.
“Yes, the station (Garsfontein) had a positive case. They are going through decontamination,” Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Noxolo Kweza told African News Agency in Pretoria.
She said the police station’s community service centre had been temporarily moved to a boy scout building next door.
Kweza said she was not at liberty to disclose the number of police stations across the Gauteng province which had confirmed Covid-19 cases.
“Unfortunately, we don’t give out statistics. Only the minister (Police Minister Bheki Cele) does that,” said Kweza.
She said the Garsfontein police station was expected to open its doors soon, as decontamination takes “a day or so”.
Earlier this month, the SAPS also temporarily closed down its national headquarters in Pretoria for urgent decontamination following confirmation that one of its officers had tested positive for Covid-19.
At the time, national spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the officer received a positive test result on Wednesday and quickly informed the commander, who activated the evacuation protocol of the entire building.
Naidoo said the move was a precautionary measure put in place to decontaminate the building. Staff would then be told to report back to their work.
“As this was a temporary evacuation to allow for the building to be decontaminated, we informed our members to return to work this morning, and should there be a need to extend it, they will be informed,” Naidoo told the Pretoria News.
The Sunnyside police station, also in Pretoria, was closed down temporarily last month after a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the South African Police Union has previously accused the government of not doing enough to protect officers from the coronavirus. This follows the closure of three police stations in Cape Town.
Union president Mpho Kwinika said it was concerning that the number of police officers contracting the virus was increasing across the country. He said those working in police stations were at an even great risk of contracting the virus because police stations see a lot of activity.
African News Agency/ANA
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