Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) has announced that a staff member who tested positive for Covid-19 has made a full recovery and has returned to work.
It was reported that CHDM employees had to evacuate the Cathcart Road offices last month, leading to a temporary closure of the municipal building.
According to a statement issued by the district municipality today, the employee, who was the first to test positive at the local authority, received her second test results which came back negative after the 14-day quarantine period.
“All essential and critical services staff working in these offices were immediately evacuated from the municipal buildings as a precautionary measure as soon as this was reported. Decontamination of the offices was immediately undertaken, whilst a process of symptom screening and possible testing of all staff and contact tracing was conducted with the support from the Department of Health. All employees that underwent testing after this incident were cleared as the virus was not detected in their system. The news came as a huge relief to the institution as numbers of infected cases continue to climb across the country,” read the statement.
The district municipality says it currently has five confirmed positive Covid-19 cases.
“The municipality has since put in place measures to manage and prevent the spread of the virus in all its operating sites. Health protocols enforced include daily symptomatic screening, availing of protective equipment to employees to ensure a safe environment.
The municipal manager, Gcobani Mashiyi, who denounced actions of stigmatizing those who have been infected with the virus welcomed the employee back to work. “Her recovery is an indication that it is possible to defeat the virus as long as one adheres to set protocols. I urge all involved to continue following hygiene etiquette by washing hands regularly with soap and water or sanitizers, wearing cloth masks every time you leave home and continue to keep social distance. CHDM is a Covid-19 hotspot, it will take all of us to turn things around.”
