30 Mar 2020

Kasane District Health Team Management (DHMT) chairperson, Dr Amos Mukadi says there are no special arrangements for quarantined people to attend funerals or any social gatherings.

Dr Mukadi said it applied to all in quarantine regardless of their status in society, adding that it also applied to quarantined people who wished to attend weddings or family social gatherings.

He said anybody who breached the 14-day quarantine rules would be charged under the Public Health Act, which stated that ‘any person who unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life is guilty of an offence’.

Government recently issued an instruction that all returning citizens and residents be subjected to a mandatory 14 days quarantine to curb the spread of the virus.

Since the first quarantine last week, police officers and soldiers have been deployed in places where people have been quarantined whilst others are seen patrolling the streets and checking on people in their homes to ensure that rules are complied with.

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Dipheko Motube also underscored the need to obey the regulations because they were there to protect lives, adding that police officers implement the law, stressing “we will implement it as it is.”

On other issues, Dr Mukadi said the Pandamatenga Border Gate was closed and that the only entry points that could be used in the Chobe District were the Kazungula Ferry, Ngoma and road border.

Kgosi David Mafikizolo of Pandamatenga thanked government for closing the Pandamatenga gate, saying it exposed the village to high risk because many visitors were now using it because they feared being screened at other entry points.

However, he said the people of Pandamatenga heeded the government’s measures to minimise the risk of spreading the virus and appealed to them to continue.

Meanwhile, Pastor Manson Molopo of the Assemblies of God in Kasane has called for prayers to prevent coronavirus outbreak in the country.

In an interview, Pastor Molopo said although some contingency measures had been put in place, it was important to pray that the disease did not gain entry into the country.

At a time when the whole country was under strict orders to avoid group gatherings, Pastor Molopo said churches should join hands by coming together to pray for Botswana not to register any case of the deadly virus.

He said at Assemblies of God, they have suspended all teaching services and their focus was to pray that the disease did not gain entry into the country.

He also said the sitting arrangement in the church was per government specifications and that less than 10 people attended the Sunday church service and by prior notification.

“Our intention is to reduce the number to cater for visitors from other churches, but not exceeding 10,” he said.

Pastor Molopo further stated that the church also provided hand sanitisers for members and that the Bishop of Assemblies of God had suspended the Easter conference which was scheduled for Tlokweng. ENDS