Following concerns over detected cases of Covid-19 cases at the Durban Port of Entry, Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize has reassured residents that South Africans are a very capable nation that know how to deal with the burden of a variant of concern.
“Our teams remain on high-alert to survey, detect and contain the spread of Covid-19 in general, with heightened awareness of travellers from countries where variants of concern (VOC) are dominating. This has been a difficult area during the Covid-19 pandemic, which can often drive exclusion, mistrust and sometimes even racist rhetoric,” he said. Minister Mkhize said he can confirm that the B.1.617 variant, circulating widely in India, has not been detected, however the genomics teams are working on some samples and we will need to allow the time it takes to sequence before we get an answer. Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) issued a statement confirming that a Filipino crew vessel which arrived on Sunday, 2 May from India had 14 out of 17 crew members who tested positive for Covid-19.
“As a requirement for the next port of call, all crew members of the vessel Eaubonne were tested for Covid-19. Upon arrival at the Port of Durban as a standard precautionary measure all crew members were tested and 14 of the crew members tested positive. The entire vessel is currently in quarantine at the Port of Durban as per Covid-19 regulations. As part of the Covid-19 protocols, the crew contact tracking and tracing is being undertaken. The vessel is currently under lockdown and the Port Health has assigned a team to go on board and check the crew members,” the statement read. Durban resident, Simphiwe Dlamini said: “Why is South Africa allowing people from high-risk countries to come into the country? South Africa should close all ports of entry to avoid a disaster like India. Soon we will also be losing more people to Covid-19 because our government is too lenient. We need more, stricter Covid-19 laws in order to control this pandemic. We cannot have people from countries such as India coming into South Africa without being checked for Covid-19. Our government needs to closely monitor the ports or close them completely.”
The Health Department issued a statement on the recent increasing activities which have been reported. “Three air travellers from India, via Doha arrived on two separate occasions (one arrived on 21 April 2021 on Qatar Airlines- QR1367 and two arrived on 25 April 2021) on Qatar Airlines (QR1367); all through King Shaka International Airport. The first passenger subsequently took ill and remains in isolation at a healthcare facility, whilst the other two passengers are currently asymptomatic and in isolation at paid lodgings. Port Health has provided details of passengers who were close contacts and NICD have overseen the cases for sample collection, contact tracing and intensified surveillance. “On 1 May, a death on board an approaching vessel was reported to Port Health by SAPS, the assistant harbour master and the vessel agent. The vessel had departed India on 18 April and berthed at Maydon Wharf on 2 May with the deceased. The body was subsequently transported to a state mortuary for a postmortem – due to sampling difficulties, authorities still await the PCR test result. However contact tracing proceeded for 21 crew members – of those 14 have been detected with Covid-19 and 7 have tested negative. “As all the members are asymptomatic, it was elected to keep all the crew on board in appropriate quarantine or isolation conditions. The vessel has been secured and is currently under strict security in its berth until authorities decide to move it to the outer anchorage under strict security until the containment period is successfully completed. We thank eThekwini Metro, through eThekwini Centre for Disease Control, for ably managing these incidences and swiftly mobilising the containment measures at municipal level.”
