At least nine Alexandra residents have now been placed under quarantine after they came into contact with a resident who tested positive for Covid-19, EWN reports.
This adds four people to the five who had already been quarantined. They are under quarantine after coming into contact with a man who ignored an instruction to remain in isolation, pending the confirmation of his test results, and travelled to Limpopo before the start of the national lockdown last week.
He was traced to Limpopo, where he is currently being held in isolation at a health facility, the Gauteng Department of Health said in a statement on Monday.
Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku told EWN that a team would visit Alexandra on Tuesday morning to test several more people who may have come into contact with him.
"All known close contacts have already been identified, tested, and are in quarantine pending results. Our tracing team will continue to work on the tracking and tracing of other possible contacts. We are urging communities to take heed of the lockdown measures and act responsibly, so that together we can contain and prevent the further spread of Covid-19," the department said on Monday.
Arrested
Police arrested the man in Limpopo over the weekend.
According to a statement by Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba's office, tracer teams struggled to locate the man in Gauteng after he tested positive. He was later found in Limpopo and swiftly arrested.
"Being an under-resourced province, the only way we can win this battle is to ensure that those who must be screened and tested do so, and those who must self-quarantine and isolate also do so. Those who fail to observe these basics and expose our communities to danger will be taken in," said Ramathuba.
Last week, police said a KwaZulu-Natal man was charged with attempted murder after he returned from abroad on 18 March, tested positive, and then continued to operate his salon business in Ladysmith. He was taken to hospital and was being treated while under arrest.
- Compiled by Riaan Grobler
