The Eastern Cape Health Department is calling on law enforcement agencies to deal decisively with anyone found to be in contravention of the national state of disaster regulations.
This followed reports of “non-cooperation” by the person who became the Eastern Cape’s first covid-19 case.
The Department said it was alleged that the 28-year-old woman, who had travelled to Germany, had “released herself from self-quarantine and allegedly lamented about her rights”.
“Our view on this is very clear, her rights as a citizen cannot override the rights of all citizens and laws of the land,” said MEC, Sindiswa Gomba, during a media briefing on Monday with the SA Council of Churches.
“We have identified a disturbing trend of tourists being bused into B&B’s in the province. As such, we have demanded that 11 German tourists who travelled from KZN over the weekend and booked at Chintsa over the weekend, be placed under quarantine,” she said.
The MEC said this group was tested in KZN and “one of them (a 22-year-old man) had his positive results confirmed while already in the province.”
She said the Department of Health had also demanded that other tourists at a B&B in Nahoon in East London be quarantined.
“We did the same with nine tourists at Savoy Hotel in Mthatha”.
Gomba said while the Department understands that businesses exist to make a profit, she said people’s lives are more important than the bottom line.
