‘CABINET DID NOT BREAK COVID-19 REGULATIONS’

MANZINI – Cabinet ministers did not break the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Regulations of 2020.
This sums up the response of Acting Government Spokesperson Sabelo Dlamini, who was requested to shed light on whether the politicians had broken their own rules by interacting with the public after having tested for the coronavirus.

On Saturday, government released a press statement stating that Cabinet ministers had all been placed in isolation after one of them tested positive for COVID-19.

The Cabinet minister who tested positive for the virus is Minister of Public Works and Transport Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe. The other ministers were said to be working from home following this development. 

The basis of the question came from a comment from a previous interview by the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Simon Zwane, who had said if a sample of an individual was taken for testing, that individual had to immediately isolate.

Positive

This, Dr Zwane said, was because that particular individual was regarded as a suspect. During this interview, the PS was referring to a Cuban doctor who had gone to assist in another hospital despite having tested and his results came back positive.
In this instance, the acting government spokesperson said: “This was a routine test for Cabinet which is done regularly and at different intervals, similar to other frontline workers as they are part of essential services.”

He said there had been no known contact with a positive person among the ministers.
The previous routine tests, Dlamini explained, had all come

out negative.
“Cabinet members are always advised and reminded to take all necessary health precautions at all times for their own safety and that of others. There’s continued emphasis on wearing of masks, social distancing and hand hygiene to minimise chances of transmission.”
On the other hand, there was suspicion that Cabinet ministers had breached the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Regulations, 2020. This was because some had, despite having tested on Tuesday, visited a number of schools countrywide to ascertain their (schools) preparedness in relation to the reopening today.
The Director of Health Services, Dr Vusi Magagula, said no person was exempt from the COVID -19 regulations. He said now that all Cabinet ministers were ordered to isolate, they would heed the call.
“We need to follow the guidelines irrespective of who we are,” he said.
Meanwhile, the President of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), Bheki Mamba, said when nurses were exposed to COVID-19, they were not allowed to self-isolate.
Regulations
He pleaded with government to be fair when implementing the regulations. Furthermore, he said the officials from the various clusters set to monitor the schools preparedness in anticipation of the reopening today, were secondary suspects and needed to practise extreme caution and hygiene.
“Despite that the results of the ministers were negative for now, the virus could still have been multiplying in their bodies and they may test positive later on,” he said.
Mamba said it was on this basis that the secondary contacts should be vigilant as many were linked with schools and any single infection could be catastrophic.
Meanwhile, the ministers all tested on Tuesday as a routine procedure for members of Cabinet. The politicians were tested due to the fact that they interact with different people on a daily basis.
Dlamini said the Ministry of Health was working with him for contact-tracing. “They will be re-tested for COVID-19 while in isolation. Over the isolation period, Cabinet will hold virtual meetings.”
Currently, there are 20 Cabinet ministers, inclusive of the premier and his deputy.

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