"The first thing you need to have in order to be tested for the coronavirus is that you need to be ill. We are testing people who have an acute respiratory infection that has come on quite suddenly with fever, a cough or shortness of breath or a sore throat.“
According to Professor Cheryl Cohen of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, this is the set criteria that a person needs to meet before they can be tested.
With all the misinformation and fake news circulating on social media about coronavirus, we revisit a video by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in which they explain who should be tested for Covid-19, when, how and why.
Last week, National Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced that South Africa was experiencing its second wave. To date, the country has 860 964 Covid-19 cases with 23 276 deaths and 761 011 recoveries.
At the time of the announcement, Mkhize said if this trajectory continues, our health-care system will be overwhelmed by the numbers.
Already, two of KwaZulu-Natal’s bigger state hospitals have been dealt massive blows after medical and hospital staff tested positive for the coronavirus.
KZN MEC for Health, Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, said 38 staffers at Addington Hospital and 23 at RK Khan tested positive.
"Those who have borne the brunt of Covid-19 include our front-line staff, such as nurses, doctors, as well as allied health workers, administrative clerks, and general orderlies," she said.
IOL