Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on Friday reassured parents at Hilton's Cowan House preparatory school that they were not alone in feeling anxious about their children.
This followed confirmation of the country's first coronavirus case in Kwazulu Natal.
"I want parents to know that you are not alone," Mkhize said during a media briefing at the school.
He was joined by the provincial member of the executive council for health, the education MEC, representatives from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and representatives from the school.
The Health Minister and the delegation held a closed meeting with parents and other stakeholders before addressing a media briefing where he assured that his Department was ready to find and tackle cases of the coronavirus.
He once again cautioned against panic.
Mkhize said that the 38-year-old man who tested positive for the virus is currently at Greys Hospital, and was "not very sick".
His wife and two small children, who attend the independent preparatory school, were in self-quarantine at their home. He said the children were asymptomatic.
The man and his wife flew back from Italy, via Dubai, and landed at Durban's King Shaka International Airport on Sunday.
- African News Agency (ANA)
