KZN health MEC annoyed by 'false and irresponsible' reporting on coronavirus
7 February 2020
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu has lashed out at certain media houses for their "false, irresponsible, and sensationalist" reporting on two suspected cases of the coronavirus in that province, saying it created an "untruthful and misleading impression" about coronavirus.
"In responding to a media enquiry earlier [on Thursday] afternoon, the department issued a clear an unambiguous response that it is aware of two cases that exhibited symptoms that were not dissimilar to those of coronavirus, but pointed out that these were subsequently found to be false alarms after laboratory tests were conducted," Simelane-Zulu said in a statement.
"In its response, the department pointed out that at the moment, there is no laboratory confirmation of the virus for the above-mentioned cases."
Simelane-Zulu said, as a precaution, one case is being handled by the department at one of its facilities, while the other is currently being managed by a private healthcare facility in Durban.