RUSTENBURG - The Promosa Community Health Centre in Potchefstroom has been closed after a nurse tested positive for the Covid-19 novel coronavirus, North West Health MEC Madoda Samabatha said on Thursday.
"We took a decisive action to immediately close the facility to allow decontamination. A mobile has been deployed to ensure access and continued service delivery until decontamination of the facility. The district and sub-district outbreak response teams started with contact for patients, staff and their families," he said.
"All staff members at the facility will be placed under quarantine for the next 14 days. The outbreak response teams are checking suitability of their homes for self-quarantine. If the homes do not meet criteria for self-quarantine, they will be taken to a designated quarantine site. This also applies to their families and patients."
He said for the next 14 days the staff of the facility would not be at work.
"[The] department has appointed additional staff, however, we will have to scale down services like hours of operation and maternity services. The clients will be serviced at other facilities."
Sambatha said he was informed on Wednesday night that results have come back positive for Covid-19.
Last month a doctor working in three hospitals in North West was the first health worker to test positive for Covid-19. The gynecologist made contact with 56 patients and all were traced together with 44 hospital staff who had made contact with him.
On Wednesday, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said 511 health workers have contacted Covid-19 and two of them – a doctor and a nurse died.
North West have so far recorded 37 cases of confirmed Covid-19 infection and 20 people have recovered.
The Bojanala District which include Rustenburg, Brits and Hartbeespoort Dam have the highest number of infections with positive cases standing at 29, Dr Kenneth Kaunda District has five cases, Ngaka Modiri Molema District has two cases and Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati has one case.