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The Eastern Cape Health Department said a vigilant security guard at Frontier Hospital in Komani caught a contract worker trying to leave the premises with 8 boxes full of personal protective equipment (PPE) on Saturday.
Department spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo, said the worker was one of the hundreds of people that the provincial government has roped in to help fight the spread of COVID-19.
“However, instead of helping the Department and by extension every Eastern Cape resident, the worker was caught stealing the lifesaving PPE,” he said.
Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba thanked the security guards for carrying out their duties well.
"Had it not been for the vigilance of the security guard, the worker would have succeeded in stealing the PPE. We condemn such thievery with the contempt it deserves,” she said.
"By stealing the PPE the worker was leaving frontline workers like doctors and doctors defenceless against this vicious virus that has already killed 8,662 people in the Eastern Cape," she said.
The MEC called on the criminal justice system to make an example out of the arrested man, who is due to appear in court soon.
"The Department has stocked enough PPE and we have also received generous donations from organisations and individuals as we all work together to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Meanwhile, MEC Gomba called on the people of the Eastern Cape to continue playing their roles in the fight against COVID-19 by adhering to regulations.
