Exerts Call for Mzansi to Ban Indian Travellers Due to Covid 19
- South African politicians and medical experts have joined calls for the country to ban travellers from India
- The latest media reports indicate that Mzansi has recorded more than 2 000 new infections from the ravaging pandemic
- On the other hand, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has said there are no direct flights from India allowed to SA
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South Africa’s daily measurements for the Covid-19 infections are continuing to rise and the latest statistics reveal that the country has reached the 2 000 mark. For the first time in a number of weeks, the country has now recorded more than 2 000 cases of new infections.
According to the latest media reports, these numbers have taken the known caseload since the start of the outbreak to 1 588 000.
EWN reports that 46 more people have also succumbed to devastating pandemic after contracting the virus, with the country's death toll now at 54 557.
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It is also indicated that more than 1.5 million patients have since recovered from the pandemic so far and that roughly translates to a 95% recovery rate. Just over 353,000 healthcare workers have now received their jabs but it remains important to ensure the infections or numbers are lowered.
BusinessInsider also reports that calls for South Africa to ban travel – or at the very least quarantine visitors – from India are intensifying among local politicians. Apart from the political scene, the calls have also surfaced from the medical sector following the move by a number of countries to ban visitors from India.
India has seen its numbers growing to a level of a crisis that has killed close to 4 000 people in the past 24 hours. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said, according to BusinessInsider:
“We wish to reassure citizens that there are no direct flights from India and that all our ports of entry employ stringent containment procedures to minimise the importation of Covid-19.
“We are currently on high alert to screen passengers and test those who require further assessment… we have also consulted the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise us on the approach to the management of travellers from countries that have epidemics driven by variants of concern.”
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In India, the latest information suggests that the Covid-19 pandemic the country has accounted for almost half of the 5.7 million new Covid-19 cases reported globally last week.
With morgues and crematoriums overwhelmed due to high numbers, hospitals are also experiencing shortages of oxygen and the country is now relying on ventilators supplied by foreign donors.
More than 226,000 people have passed away due to the ravaging virus since the start of the outbreak last year.
Briefly News recently published a story that 14 crew members of a cargo ship that docked in Durban have tested positive for Covid-19.
The bulk carrier sailed to Durban from India, where a severe strain of the virus is causing havoc. The Filipino-crewed vessel sailed for 17 days directly from India to the coastal city in KZN.
The chief engineer of the ship reportedly died on board from a heart attack, according to a media statement by the Transnet National Ports Authority.
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Source: Briefly News
