SPORTS MINISTRY HALTS OPERATIONS

MBABANE – They are not prepared to risk lives. It has been reliably gathered that some staff members at the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs will undergo COVID-19 tests as a precautionary measure after being told to stay in self-isolation.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that these staff members are suspected to have been in contact with Eswatini Sport and Recreation Council Business and Development Manager Zama Tsabedze in the course of their duties.

This is because the two organisations work closely and Tsabedze is said to have on different occasions, interacted with some of the senior officials in the ministry in the past days hence the fear that they were exposed to the virus.
“It was only natural that after Zama (Tsabedze) confessed to have tested positive for the virus, the focus would be on those he has interacted with during this period.

Fumigate

The senior officials in the ministry took the wise decision to turn back the staff from work and fumigate the place apart from ensuring that those who interacted with Tsabedze are tested while in self-isolation,” an impeccable source revealed.

It has also been gathered that operations at the ministry came to a grinding halt yesterday to allow health officials to ensure the offices were safe for the staff.
This will be after they are given the all clear to do so by the relevant authorities.

Self-isolation is normally for 14 days which is the period the symptoms of the virus will start showing. However, it must also be mentioned that it can now take 48 hours for COVID-19 test results to be released.
Contacted for comment, the ministry’s Communications Officer, Sibongiseni Zondi, alluded to the fact that the staff was turned back as a precautionary measure.

He said this was also meant to give the health officials time and space to fumigate the offices. 
“My comment is that all the necessary health precautions have been taken by the ministry,” Zondi stated briefly.

Chosen

“So far, the Ministry has chosen not to comment on Tsabedze as they view it as personal.
Some of the Sports Ministry staff members, though speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that some of them were tested for COVID-19 and told to stay in self-isolation until given all the clear to report back to work.

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