Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said South Africa is on “high alert” following the declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in China was now a global health emergency.
Mkhize said his country was on “high alert” even though there has been no reported case of the Coronavirus so far.
“We wish to assure South Africans that the country is ready for active surveillance, detention, and tracing of a threat,” the minister said.
WHO’s declaration comes in the wake of over 200 people losing their lives to the virus that was first identified in Wuhan City in the Hubei Province of China in December.
With 7,736 confirmed cases of the virus in China and 83 reported in other countries, the WHO Emergency Committee held its second meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday to discuss the outbreak.
“We don’t know what this virus would do if it were to spread in a country with a weaker health system. We must act now to help prepare countries for that possibility.
“For this reason, I’m declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern over the outbreak of novel Coronavirus,” WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus said on Friday.
During the WHO meeting, Chinese authorities reported on the current situation and the public health measures being taken.
Of the confirmed cases, some 1,370 are severe and over 200 people have died, while 124 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital, according to the Chinese health authorities.
NM/jn/APA