Times Of Swaziland: WORKS MINISTER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, IN ISOLATION WORKS MINISTER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, IN ISOLATION ================================================================================ BY MBONGENI NDLELA on 05/07/2020 00:02:00 mbongeni@times.co.sz MBABANE – It’s a major blow for government operations. Cabinet ministers have all been placed in isolation after one of their own tested positive for COVID-19. Following that Minister of Public Works and Transport Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe has tested positive for the virus, government issued a statement yesterday stating that ministers will isolate with immediate effect and work from home. Sabelo Dlamini, Acting Government Spokesperson, said Minister Ndwandwe was in isolation and being monitored by doctors. The minister’s phone rang unanswered yesterday when called by the Times SUNDAY. However, one of the ministers who spoke to this publication yesterday said they all tested on Tuesday as a routine procedure for members of Cabinet. “We got tested because we interact with different people daily,” the minister explained. Meanwhile, Dlamini stated that minister Ndwandwe’s results came back positive. he is in isolation “As a result, he is in isolation and being managed by doctors. The Ministry of Health is working with him for contact-tracing. All other Cabinet members tested negative during the routine tests conducted on Tuesday, June 30, 2020,” stated Dlamini. Ndwandwe is also Chief of Bulandzeni and Nkambeni. “Following this development, all Cabinet members will isolate with immediate effect and work from home. “They will be re-tested for COVID 19 while in isolation. Over the isolation period, Cabinet will hold virtual meetings.” Currently, there are 18 ministers. Yesterday 45 people tested positive for coronavirus in the kingdom, raising the figure of confirmed cases to 956. The minister is now part of the confirmed cases. According to the amended COVIID-19 Regulations of 2020, Section 9 (1): “A person with a history of travel to a country or area from where COVID-19 has been reported or is a contact with a person in the last 14 days, who does not have symptoms of cough, fever, difficulty in breathing, shall be under isolation or quarantine at home and take precautions as stipulated and shall avoid contact with any person including family members for 14 days from the date of arrival from such area.” Minister Ndwandwe is the second legislator to test positive for COVID-19 after Macford Sibandze, the Manzini North Member of Parliament. Sibandze recovered after serving 14 days in isolation. According to the world barometer, globally there were now 11.2 million confirmed cases with over 530 956 deaths. Around 6.4 million people have recovered.