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- Sergeant Chriszelda Coetzee, 38, died alone in her flat in Cape Town at the weekend.
- She had self-isolated after testing positive for Covid-19.
- Describing her as kind and dedicated, her sister said she continued to keep up with some work via email.
A Cape Town sergeant, who self-isolated after finding out she had Covid-19, ended up dying alone in her flat, her sister said on Tuesday.
Chriszelda Coetzee, 38, had been in the police force for almost 20 years and was a familiar face in the Cape Town Regional Court.
She started feeling ill and struggled to breathe on 5 July. Her sister, Cindy Coetzee, took her to hospital, where it emerged she had a high fever, but they could not admit her until she had taken a test for Covid-19.
After receiving confirmation two days later, she decided to isolate at her flat in Tygervalley.
"I spoke to her every day. On Friday, I phoned her and she said she is fine. She is resting, drinking her Oros and sleeping. That's all she wanted to do."
"I phoned her on Saturday and it rang once and died. I think her battery went flat."
Cindy asked her sister's neighbours to check up on her. They found her unresponsive and an ambulance was called.
It's believed she had gone into a coma.
"At that point [she was found], she was already gone."
She was devastated, thinking of her sister suffering alone.
"She was a bit overweight and struggled with sleep apnoea, but other than that she was fine. She didn't have any comorbidities."
Colleagues and friends took to social media to share their devastation at the news.
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Captain Belinda-Ann Walters shared: "R. I. P. Spiky. You were pleasure to work with. I salute you for the service you gave to your country and in doing so passed on. Till we meet again."
Agnes Willemse said: "Very sad indeed... Spiky, you will be dearly missed... starting together... growing... making mistakes.. learn... 2002 Pretoria intake... gone to soon, now u can fly high with your Mom... Rest easy, till we meet again."
Cindy said her sister had a heart of gold and always made her laugh.
She was also dedicated to her work.
"She would do her job, make sure everything was done, and was filling in her little black book," she said.
"She got paperwork emailed to her and was still keeping up to date with what was going on at work. She didn't want anybody else to stress about that and really took pride in her job."
The family is hoping to hold her funeral on Saturday.
