Just a day after the Gauteng Province became South Africa’s epicentre for the coronavirus pandemic, its premier David Makhura has tested positive for Covid-19, his office said on Friday.
Makhura is the third premier in the country to have contracted the virus which has claimed 3,720 lives from 238 339 confirmed cases nationwide — with Gauteng Province alone having 82,000 of the cases.
The other regional premiers who have tested positive for Covid-19 and are recovering in isolation are North West Provincial Job Mokgoro and Alan Winde of the Western Cape Province.
Makhura said he experienced some mild symptoms on Wednesday.
“On Thursday 9 July 2020 I decided to self-quarantine and test for Covid-19 as a precautionary measure.
“Today on Friday 10 July 2020 I received my test results confirming that I have tested positive for Covid-19,” the premier said
Makhura said he would be in self-isolation and work from home in the next two weeks or more until he has recovered from the disease.
“Given the fact that I only have mild symptoms, I will continue to ensure that the Provincial Executive Council and Provincial Coronavirus Command Council respond adequately to weather the storm of the pandemic in order to save more lives.
“I wish to appeal to all the people of Gauteng to continue playing their part in observing the golden rules of washing hands regularly, wearing a mask, and practicing physical distancing,” Makhura said.
Meanwhile, South African musician known as AKA (real name Kiernan Forbes) has tested positive for Covid-19, he tweeted on Friday.
“Multi-award-winning South African musician, AKA, has tested positive for the novel Covid-19 virus,” the post reads.
NM/jn/APA