Mediclinic in Upington rubbishes reports of positive virus case

MEDICLINIC in Upington has denied reports that a patient who was admitted at their facility had tested positive for Covid-19.
The management of the hospital said the patient, who is believed to be in his 60s, had only tested positive for malaria and was tested for coronavirus as a precaution.

“The patient was admitted on March 28, 2020. He was tested for malaria and those tests came back positive. As a precaution, he was tested for Covid-19 because he had travelled to a high-risk area. The patient had indicated that he had travelled to Johannesburg and Mpumalanga. He was then placed as a patient under investigation (PUI). He was found to be Covid-19 negative and was discharged,” Mediclinic said.

The hospital management indicated that the rumours of them ‘harbouring’ a patient who had tested positive for the coronavirus were untrue.

“People are combining any illness a person may have with the Covid-19. We do not only conduct tests for Covid-19. We can also never ‘harbour’ or hide a patient who has tested positive for Covid-19 and have to relay that information to the national health office. We are faced with an international crisis and have to work in partnership with all health bodies. However we have to treat the medical information of each patient with the required confidentiality and cannot parade or distribute their personal information. However we are not hiding any Covid-19 positive patients,” a spokesperson for the hospital group said.