Covid19: Doctor Arrested for Breaking Curfew After Attending a Medical Emergency
- A Johannesburg doctor was arrested on Friday, 16 July for being in contravention of lockdown regulations
- He was released on Saturday morning after a family member posted his bail at an Edenvale police station
- He had been returning home after attending a medical emergency of a family member in the East of Johannesburg
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An ear, nose and throat specialist spent the night in the Edenvale police holding cells on Friday. The police arrested him for breaking curfew as per coronavirus regulations.
Dr Ivan Jardine says on Friday afternoon he received word from his cousin that his aunt, who was dehydrated, needed medical attention and there was no help nearby, according to MyBroadband.
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Dr Jardine, who lives in Kensington on the East Rand, decided to take the trip to Quellerina in the West Rand to give his aunt medical assistance. He spent the rest of Friday afternoon and the evening attending to his aunt, who is the oldest surviving member of his family, reports TimesLIVE.
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Dr Jardine states that he left Quellerina after 9pm and was stopped by the police at Eastgate who asked to see a permit that allowed him to be on the road after curfew.
“At Eastgate, the police stopped me and demanded a permit and demanded an ID. I said I was doctor. They did not believe me,” Jardine said.
He further told the police that he worked at a hospital near where he was stopped and they still decided to take him in. After his arrest, Dr Jardine said he called everyone he knew who could vouch for him as a doctor, including the hospital's manager where he worked.
He went on to further say that he was interviewed by a detective who set his bail at R2 000, which he did not have on hand. He was released on Saturday at 5am after a family member came with bail money.
On Monday, Dr Jardine's lawyer appeared in court on his behalf and the case was postponed until 5 August for further investigation. Dr Jardine believes that doctors don't need a permit for emergencies and if the same emergency were to arise again he would attend to it without hesitation.
"No government, no policeman must stop us from performing our duties when an emergency calls,” Dr Jardine said.
Dr Jardine pointed out that he was kept in a tiny cell with four other people where he could have easily contracted Covid-19. When he told police officers of the risk of contracting the coronavirus they were not interested.
Woman contracts Covid-19, admitted to hospital days before vaccine shot
Briefly News recently reported that a woman detailed her harrowing ordeal of contracting the coronavirus only days before she was due to receive a jab meant to protect her against it.
Thabiso Mahlape, who is the founder and publisher of Blackbird Books, has turned to Twitter to relay her experience of learning that she had been infected with Covid-19 and the emotional impact that it has had on her in recent days.
In a tweet on Monday, Mahlape wrote:
"My vaccination date is tomorrow. But in the early hours of Friday morning, I rushed to the ER (Emergency Room) and was found to be positive for Covid and admitted.
"I'm back home now continuing my recovery but I wanted to say, please pray for people who are in hospital, what a horror of a virus."
Mahlape said she encourages people to not take any symptoms lightly, even if they are not those known to be associated with Covid-19. She added that taking steps to safeguard oneself against contracting the virus is not the ultimate guarantee.
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Source: Briefly News
