A 74-year-old man who recently visited the Kruger National Park with his family, tested positive for COVID-19. He has since died in a private hospital in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal.
iReport South Africa News is giving you full details of how the 74-year-old man got infected and died of coronavirus in South Africa with no travel history to overseas.
1. Tracer team nabs German tourist for flouting Covid-19 quarantine rules, continuing his holiday in KZN. Police have arrested a second person for allegedly absconding coronavirus QUARANTINE. A tourist, had travelled from the Kruger National Park to St Lucia.
2. He tested positive while on holiday at Kruger National Park and was instructed to remain at his lodge. Instead, he ignored the instruction and left the park and proceeded to St Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal (near Mtubatuba), where he apparently interacted with number of people.
3. Earlier, The Mercury reported that a 52-year-old Ladysmith businessman was arrested after he tested positive and continued to work.
4. The same man travelled to various countries to South Africa. On his return on March 18, he was tested positive with the Covid-19 and was instructed to self-quarantine for at least 14 days pending the blood results.
5. However the allegedly continued with his business and in doing so disregarded the instructions by a doctor thus allegedly contravening regulations in terms of the National Disaster Act pertaining to the Covid-19 virus. The 52-year-old suspect was arrested
6. On 27 March, SANParks announced that a French tourist who visited the park also tested positive. In a statement they said: “South African National Parks confirms that one French tourist that arrived in the Kruger National Park, tested positive to the novel COVID-19.
7. The tourist was part of a group of six who had booked a two-night stay in the national park. The group arrived in the country on 14 March 2020 and entered the KNP three days later on 17 March departing on 19 March 2020.
8. Before leaving the KNP one of the tourists, a 25-year-old male, consulted medical doctor in the Park for what was initially suspected to be a malaria but later ruled out. The tourist was advised to undergo a COVID-19 test as he complained about a sore throat and fever.
9. The country has recorded the second death of a patient who had tested positive for Covid-19. The 74-year-old male had been in ICU and ventilation in a private hospital in Ladysmith. He had travelled to Kruger National Park with his family and came back with flu like symptoms.
10. He was confirmed to be Covid-19 positive on the 27th March 2020. It has been reported to us that the deceased patient had an underlying skin cancer condition (melanoma), which had already complicated.
11. He presented with the following symptoms: respiratory distress, shortness of breath, cardiac failure, decreased saturation and his temperature was above 38 degrees.
12. The deceased’s family, 14 health workers, including 3 specialist doctors, who were in contact with him are now in quarantine and being monitored.