Health Minister Urges Calm as Hantavirus Tracing Continues
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has said that authorities are actively tracing people who may have come into contact with confirmed Hantavirus patients, reports EWN. The World Health Organization reported two confirmed and five suspected infections among passengers on a cruise ship near Cape Verde. A British tourist flown to South Africa for treatment at a Sandton hospital remains in critical condition after testing positive for Hantavirus. A second suspected local case was reported after a patient collapsed at the OR Tambo International Airport while in transit to the Netherlands. He later died at a medical facility in Kempton Park. Motsoaledi has urged the public not to panic, saying health authorities are closely monitoring the situation.
Woman Killed in Cape Flats Crossfire
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A 39-year-old woman has been killed after being struck by a stray bullet during a shootout between two groups of suspects in Epping Avenue near Elsies River on the Cape Flats, reports SABC News. Police spokesperson, Ndakhe Gwala, said that a stray bullet hit the deceased. The suspects fled the scene in a blue and a red Polo GTI. Gwala has said that the police have now launched a manhunt to capture the killers.
Steenhuisen Lifts KwaZulu-Natal Foot-and-Mouth Restrictions
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has cancelled the disease management area in northern KwaZulu-Natal, which had restricted animal movement due to foot-and-mouth disease, reports EWN. He said that lifting the restrictions did not mean lowering the guard on eradicating the disease that has threatened farming in several provinces. He has also implemented a much-anticipated routine vaccination program that will allow farmers, through private veterinarians, to vaccinate their own animals in addition to the state-managed program. Steenhuisen said that the decision to lift the restrictions has been informed by a shift in the epidemiological story of the province.
