Johannesburg - The Lyndenburg police station in Mpumalanga has been closed after a police officer tested positive for the coronavirus.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said members of the public who relied on the police station had to use an alternative address in the meantime.
“The Community Service Centre will be operating from the Detectives' Offices at Central Street no 4, opposite Thabachweu Local Municipality offices.
“To access the station, the community can call 082 943 5588 or 071 181 2952 for all emergencies and complaints, which will be attended accordingly.
“The telephone lines at Lydenburg Police Station Community Service Centre will not be accessible for the duration of the closure.
“However, service delivery will not be hampered,” said Hlathi.
Hlathi said the police station was expected to be decontaminated on Friday, and the station was expected to resume operations on Saturday.
“The SAPS management apologises for any inconvenience that may arise from this,” said Hlathi.
The temporary closure of the police station comes as police officers were, this week, given the green light to receive their vaccine jabs.
On Wednesday night, police spokesperson Major General Mathapelo Peters said the SAPS vaccination programme had now vaccinated over 2055 police officers.
Wednesday was the second day of the SAPS vaccination programme.
“On day two of the programme, a total of 2055 vaccines had been administered to police officers and support personnel at both the Orlando Stadium in Soweto and the SAPS Tshwane Academy vaccination site following yesterday's launch.
“At Orlando Stadium, 760 members were vaccinated, bringing the total number of members who have been vaccinated over the first two days at the site to 1285.
“At SAPS Tshwane Academy, a second vaccination site, a total of 770 members had been vaccinated over two days,” said Peters.
The police said over 32 565 police officers had tested positive for the coronavirus since last year, while over 30 955 had recovered from the virus, while 673 officers had succumbed to the virus.
“While vaccination is voluntary, the SAPS continues to encourage all members to get vaccinated in a bid to operate optimally in serving and protecting the people of South Africa.
“Vaccinating our members does not mean we should stop adhering to the non-pharmaceutical health and safety protocols.
“The police service will continue to ensure that all health and safety protocols at all service points remain in place and are adhered to by members,” said Peters.
IOL