29 Mar 2020

About 30 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park employees have been placed under quarantine to curb the possible spread of coronavirus.

The quarantine follows a law enforcement operation by the district rapid response team.

Kgalagadi District Commissioner, Mr Patson Dibotelo said in an interview Friday that the exercise was meant to re-enforce government protocols in the COVID-19 outbreak.

He said since the virus outbreak, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park employees had been interacting with tourists hence the need to screen, test and quarantine them for 14 days to ascertain their health status.

Mr Dibotelo noted that the park was free movement and that  tourists did not need passports to access either the Botswana or South Africa side of the park hence the need for the exercise.

Mr Dibotelo noted that the park experienced an unusual swell of tourists following the lockdown by the government of South Africa on Thursday.

For his part, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park manager, Mr Leabaneng Bontshetse said the park began to experience an influx of tourists following the virus outbreak.

Member of Parliament for Kgalagadi South, Mr Sam Brooks said the virus was dangerous and that professionals across the globe were running to try and find a vaccine that could treat the ailment.

The MP called on Batswana to follow advice from both the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to prevent getting the virus.

He said it was critical for all to implement precautionary measures that government had put in place to combat the virus.

An employee at Tashebube Lodge, Mr Hendrick Magalie appreciated the Kgalagadi South emergency response team for their commitment and swiftness with which they had taken to the fight against COVID-19.

He said it was important to cross check with the villagers within the BORAVAST cluster such as Bokspits, Rappelspan, Vaalhoek and Struizendam who might have interacted with employees of the park.

“It is also important to sanitise facilities which had been used by tourists to avoid further spread of the virus in case there was any,” he said.

For her part, Kgalagadi DHMT community health nurse, Ms Veronica Lesele confirmed that health officials arrived at the park last week to provide health services to people at the park.

This, she said, was in recognition of the fact that people living within the park had a high risk of getting the virus from their interactions with some of the tourists from COVID-19 infested countries. ENDS