South Africa’s first Covid-19 patient is well enough to go home but needs the official all-clear, said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize at a meeting to assuage residents in KwaZulu-Natal where the virus was first detected.

Mkhize said he spoke to the man on Sunday, adding that the nurse treating him said he had recovered and was only waiting for the official all-clear to go home. 

“I called the gent: ‘Ey sir, how are you?’ he said. The man replied: “Ey, I’m OK … I’m better now’,” he added.

Mkhize said, according to the man, the first inkling that something was up was when the police started closing restaurants and imposed a curfew in the Italian resort town where he and his wife were on a skiing trip.

In a live broadcast on eNCA from a community meeting in Pietermaritzburg, which is near the first, and third patients’ home in Hilton, Mkhize said people near the ski resort were being told not to walk around at night to reduce contact between people. 

The couple was on holiday in a group of 10 and flew home via Dubai to King Shaka International Airport. 

When the man started feeling fluey last week, he went to his doctor, and she arranged for a test for Covid-19, which the health department confirmed as positive. 

The doctor closed her practice straight away to avoid infecting others and is at home waiting out the period for when she too gets the all-clear. 

The other nine people in the group were also tested after epidemiologists interviewed the Hilton man, and since Thursday’s announcement of South Africa’s first patient, one person in the group in Gauteng and the man’s wife have also tested positive. 

READ | Third novel coronavirus case in SA confirmed

Their children tested negative, but their school was closed on Friday as a precaution and, they will remain in self-quarantine until their parents test negative. 

Mkhize said people were treating the virus as “some gorilla that will eat us”, but it had become clear that only around 15% of people diagnosed with it, would become seriously ill.

He added around 5% diagnosed with the virus would require intensive medical support such as a ventilator.

With no vaccination or cure, recovery depends on supportive care such as making people comfortable while the fever is reduced until the body is strong enough to face the virus and overcome it. 

Most people will have shed the virus within 14 days. 

So far, it is not mutating, and will not return as something the body does not recognise.

ALSO READ | Coronavirus: All the fuss is irritating, says doctor who diagnosed first SA case

Mkhize sees Covid-19 as becoming part of the common cluster of viruses, such as the rotavirus, but because it has jumped from animals to humans and immunity is still being built up, people are scared. 

None of the South African students, teachers or traders in China have tested positive, and some who originally wanted to return to South Africa have opted to stay in China as they realise it has hit other countries as well.

Mkhize said there were now more new cases outside China because it had reduced the spread. 

The virus has infected 107 000 people worldwide.

He reminded people who “slash and dash” when going to the loo quickly to also wash their hands. 

“You see many people.” he said, breaking into a jaunty whistle and adding some levity. “They walk out there, whistling way, they didn’t wash their hands.”

The department of health has increased available hospital beds in KwaZulu-Natal in case more people test positive and require hospital treatment. 

Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said extra beds were being set aside in case there were more cases. 

Mkhize said it was just a matter of time before another infection was detected in South Africa.

“All the countries will have this virus as part of their daily lives,” he added. 

The University of Pretoria (UP) will temporarily disable biometric access systems to stop any potential spread of the novel coronavirus, which has now infected two people in South Africa. 

While the first positive case has been traced to a patient living in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, the university has already acted on the advice of medical experts.

A letter to staff and students confirms that UP is temporarily disabling biometric scanning.

“The process will take a few days to implement, and we’re hoping to have the systems on all campuses disabled by the middle of next week. Staff and students are still required to use their valid access cards to scan in and out at all entrance gates,” the letter read.

“We take the issue seriously and are closely monitoring the situation while working with a team of health experts as well as the relevant authorities, including the National Institute of Communicable Diseases.”

READ | ‘I’m much better’, says man with SA’s first case of coronavirus

On Saturday, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize confirmed a second case of the novel coronavirus in Gauteng.

A 39-year-old woman, who was part of the same travel group to Italy as the first case, has been diagnosed with the virus.

On Thursday, Mkhize released a statement saying the National Institute for Communicable Diseases had confirmed the first positive test – a 38-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal.

More than 300 people have been tested for the coronavirus.

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A new search for a venue to house 184 South African citizens set to be brought home from the epicentre of the global and deadly Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, is now underway following a breakdown in talks between the government and management of the original facility.

News24 has confirmed that officials are no longer in discussion with the luxury Black Mountain Hotel in Thaba Nchu in the Free State, which was earmarked to become a quarantine facility for those returning to the country.

According to two senior government officials with direct knowledge of the matter, the Black Mountain Hotel situated in the Maria Moroka Nature Reserve had attempted this week to drastically increase its original price for the use of the facility.

This allegation was rejected by Black Mountain Hotel general manager Peter Leonard.

“Black Mountain can confirm it has been in discussions with the government about the use of the Black Mountain Hotel as a quarantine facility for South African evacuees from areas of China affected by coronavirus (Covid-19),” he said in a written statement.

READ | ‘I’m much better’, says KZN man with SA’s first confirmed case of coronavirus

“We absolutely reject the insinuation that there has been an attempt to increase pricing as part of those discussions, which we entered into in good faith. Black Mountain is justifiably concerned about the potential future impact on its business by accepting this responsibility and have sought to ensure that our ability to trade once the facility is handed back to us is protected,” Leonard said.

“Our primary concern has been to protect the future livelihoods of our staff, and to guarantee the safety and sanctity of the communities around the facility,” he added.

Leonard said the fact that it had been made public that Black Mountain was being considered as a venue had impacted the business, as some concerned guests had indicated their intention to cancel future bookings.

Hotel staff had endured sustained abuse, he said.

READ | Coronavirus: What to do if you think you might be infected

“As a result of this, Black Mountain has had to disengage from these discussions and continues to trade as normal,” Leonard said.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize told Parliament on Thursday, shortly after the announcement of the country’s first positive Covid-19 case in KwaZulu-Natal, that the returning citizens would be screened for the virus by officials before returning.

One senior government official, who could not be identified as they are not authorised to speak with the media, said the hotel had increased the price to an amount which was “exorbitant”, leading to officials abandoning the hotel as an option. The source explained that nearly 20 people had been dispatched across the country to search for an alternative venue.

Another official said, on condition of anonymity, that the price Black Mountain wanted to charge was too high. 

READ | Dettol, garlic and fake cases in North West, Cape: Debunking the hoaxes, lies around coronavirus

The SABC reported on Friday that the South African National Defence Force plane identified to be used to evacuate people from Wuhan remained grounded over safety concerns raised by crew members. 

Mkhize’s spokesperson Popo Maja said the minister would probably announce new plans on Sunday

He stressed that there had never been a commitment made to secure any facility.

ALSO READ | Coronavirus in SA: Next case unlikely to come from repatriated South Africans