A South African deputy minister has tested positive to the deadly coronavirus and has been placed in self-isolation, APA learnt on Monday.
According to the Presidency, Deputy Minister of Correctional Services Nkosi Phathekile Holomisa had tested positive for the disease, and was now in isolation where he is receiving treatment with “our full support.”
“We are looking forward to his full recovery in order for him to continue serving the people of South Africa with great valour and dedication,” Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, said.
The deputy minister was in self-isolation at his residence and was taking all the necessary precautions towards full recovery, Mthembu said.
Holomisa, said to be in good spirits, was determined to defeat the virus, which has affected thousands of South Africans, and killed some 1,480 people so far, according to the minister in the presidency.
“As the world has been grappling with this global pandemic over the past few months, coronavirus has demonstrated that it does not have barriers for any section of society and that any person can be infected,” Mthembu said.
The minister reiterated the government’s appeal to South Africans to take precautionary and preventative measures against the deadly virus.
These include wearing a mask, social distancing, and regularly and thoroughly cleaning hands with soap or a sanitiser that contains 70 percent alcohol content, he said.
NM/jn/APA