A South African National Park has recorded one positive Covid-19 case at Kruger National Park (KNP). The organisation confirmed that one French tourist that arrived at KNP tested positive to coronavirus.
According to SANParks, the tourist was part of a group of six who had booked a two-night stay in the national park. The group arrived in the country on March 14, 2020 and entered the KNP three days later on March 17. They departed on March 19, 2020.
Before leaving the KNP one of the tourists, a 25-year-old male, consulted the resident medical doctor in the park for what was initially suspected to be a malaria infection but later ruled out. The tourist was advised by the doctor to undergo a Covid-19 test as he complained about a sore throat and had a slight fever.
The test was done as per the National Department of Health (NDoH) regulations by the KNP doctor with the details of the group obtained for easy tracing. After the test, the group left for KwaZulu-Natal, where they were traced and attended to by the NDoH personnel in KZN. NDoH has confirmed that the five members of the group have now placed themselves in self-isolation and the patient admitted to a designated health facility in KZN.
Following the release of the tourist results, officials from DoH in Mpumalanga visited Skukuza to track down staff who may have had contact with this group. All possible contacts were speedily identified.
According to NDoH protocols, the identified staff will be closely monitored for the mandatory 14 days from the date of exposure, and will immediately be taken for testing if they show any of the symptoms.
SANParks said staff had limited contact with visitors and all staff in national parks followed clear sanitising protocols as per SANParks approved Standard Operating Procedures as prescribed by the World Health Organisation and NDoH guidelines.
All national parks remain closed in adherence to the nationwide lockdown.