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Nelson Mandela Bay‘s COVID-19 Disaster Management Forum said it was concerned about recent incidents where people and families that have tested positive for COVID19 have been stigmatised.
Forum chairperson, Shane Brown, said since the announcement of the lockdown, the Department of Health and the Municipality’s Public Health Directorate have crisscrossed the City doing screening, testing and contact tracing.
However, he said the teams have noticed a trend of reluctance among people who have tested positive and their contacts to come out and submit themselves for isolation.
“It emerged that the main infected persons and their families were fearful that if it became known that they tested positive, the community would stigmatise them. In some instances, infected residents and their families had even been chased out of their own communities,” Brown said.
He said this was having a negative effect on contact tracing and the isolation of those who are infected.
Brown warned that this type of stigmatisation will “ultimately hinder our efforts to flatten the curve.”
“We plead with our communities to show compassion to and support individuals and families who are affected by this pandemic. People must understand that anyone can be infected by this virus and that immediate isolation and medical monitoring is critical.”
He said work has already started to intensify Nelson Mandela Bay’s efforts through communication and raising public awareness in a bid to end the stigmatisation of people who have contracted Covid19.
