Remarks by KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala during the official launch of the screening and testing campaign in Pietermaritzburg to curb the spread of the Coronavirus pandemamic, 16 April 2020
Programme Director HOD champion Mr S. Nsibande;
Finance MEC and District Champion Mr Ravi Pillay;
Health MEC Ms Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu;
District Mayor Councillor T. Maphumulo;
Mayor of Umsunduzi Local Municipality Councillor Mzi Tebola;
Members of the KZN Command Team on Coronavirus;
The Director-General of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize;
Senior Government Officials;
Members of the Media;
Honoured Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Good Morning!
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
These words by American Civil Rights Activist Dr Martin Luther King Junior ring true today as we stand here about to send our brave men and women as a frontline offensive against an invisible enemy that is threatening mankind across the globe and within our shores.
Like any self-respecting army general about to deploy his gallant troops to the battlefront, we call on our people to cooperate and assist our health care combatants as we launch the Provincial Massive Community Screening and Testing.
This programme is crucial to our quest to flatten the curve of the Coronavirus pandemic as outlined by His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa recently.
We launch this programme at a time when our country is doing everything possible to contain the spread of this virus.
As the Provincial Government, we wish to pay a special tribute to the many health workers who have heeded the President’s call for active community screening and testing programme.
We wish to take this opportunity to thank the health workers for being in the frontline in the fight to combat this Coronavirus pandemic.
We thank them for putting our country first as we do our utmost to flatten the curve of this virus that has wreaked havoc in our country.
We are encouraged by their dedication and support, as they give so much of themselves to save the lives of others.
For their wonderful work, we are truly grateful and humbled. To them, we say please keep up the good work for the sake our nation which, together with other nations of the world, is trying to find a solution to conquer this pandemic.
The least we can do to appreciate and honour them is to ensure that they have access to all the tools of their trade. This is why we are doing everything possible to ensure that, despite global constraints, all of our foot soldiers and health workers in general have access to the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that they need.
We also thank the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government and the Provincial Command Team for its unwavering dedication.
As we take this programme to each and every district of this province, we want you to know that your work is highly appreciated and valued by all of us.
Programme director, the number of positive cases from COVID - 19 in KwaZulu-Natal is 519, with 18 deaths as of yesterday (15 April 2020).
The Coronavirus outbreak represents a significant risk to the population of Kwa-Zulu- Natal (KZN) and the country. If we do not make drastic changes to how we do things, it has the potential to cause high levels of morbidity and mortality, and pose a threat to our social and economic security.
We are quite pleased that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, together with various stakeholders, has geared itself up towards curbing the transmission.
More effort is now required to conduct more surveillance and screening for Covid-19, hence the strategy of conducting mass community screening and testing.
The Provincial Community and Testing Screening plan complements the Contact Tracing Plan and will yet prove to be a vital cog in our efforts to intensify this fight.
These ground soldiers will be going house to house screening and testing our people.
The need to debunk myths and lies about the home screening programme
We were dismayed a few days ago to witness a video, as well as voice-notes, which made a number of unfounded and dangerous claims about this programme before it even started. Some of these false claims were to the effect that the home screening and testing programme was being done to actually infect our people with COVID – 19. This is outrageous behaviour, which smacks of irresponsibility, and calls into serious question people’s level of sanity.
It is actually tantamount to treason… derailing such an important, safe and scientifically-proven method to fight the scourge of COVID – 19. We call on our communities not to be swayed by such agent provocateurs, and instead welcome these teams into their homes so that the programme can be a success.
Health care worker identification
We are fully conscious that our crime-weary citizens are concerned about opportunistic criminals who might want to pose as field agents so that they can gain access to people’s home. We want to warn such people that that kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.
Our teams have been issued with reflector vests which clearly identify them. We wish to reiterate that, before these field agents can commence with screening and testing, we will also conduct loud-hailing and also announce in the media where possible, in order to create community awareness.
To further heighten awareness, teams of health educators will distribute pamphlets to households.
Composition of teams
There are 565 mass screening and testing teams, which amounts to 1130 cadres distributed throughout the province. These teams work in pairs, and are constituted mostly by enrolled nurses. In addition to that, there are 90 teams focusing on road blocks, and 620 tracer teams providing contact tracing.
These teams have been trained on mass screening and testing using a questionnaire with 27 questions available in both English and IsiZulu.
There is a standard operating procedure in a form of a guideline provided to these teams. The teams are working with community health workers from local areas.
How the screening and testing will unfold
The teams enter the household, administer the questionnaire and if there is any suspect they then take a specimen. There are 12 mobile testing vehicles provided in the province, of which four vehicles have already been received. Three of these vehicles are allocated in Ethekwini, due to the high burden of this pandemic, while the other vehicle is allocated in Umgungundlovu district. The mobile testing vehicle comes with one driver and a professional nurse. As soon as we start using rapid tests, these teams will also be joined by medical technologists.
What happens if you have symptoms during the screening?
If the health worker thinks that you may have COVID-19, they will refer you to a health facility to be tested.
What happens if you have not travelled, have not been in contact with anyone with covid-19, and do not have symptoms?
You will have nothing to worry about, but must still on doing things to protect yourself:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, or use alcohol-based hand sanitiser
- Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze
- Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth
- Avoid close contact (1 meter) with people who are unwell
- Stay at home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell
Effective data management through technology
The initial stage of data collection is paper based, but at a later stage the teams will be using cell phones which will be loaded with an application, or an app, that will feed into a database. The app will enable easy supervision of these teams, since they will be observed in a live household setting, which will enable real time information.
We once again call upon the people of South Africa to join hands with us as we take the war against Coronavirus to the next level.
Let's Grow KwaZulu-Natal together.
I Thank you!
