19 Apr 2020

The much anticipated community testing for the coronavirus has now been changed to target testing in an effort to timely identify those who had contact with those that had tested positive for COVID-19.
    Addressing the media on April 19, the COVID-19 Coordination Team, headed by Dr Kereng Masupu said that the strategy was changed after analysing the pattern of the spread of the virus and also after recording six positive local contact cases, which emanated from direct contacts.
    For his part, Prof. Mosepele Mosepele said the recorded cases proved that contact tracing was bearing fruit and should be intensified through target testing, hence the need to abandon the community testing for it.
    He said the teams would be dispatched strategically to places where traced people would be based as that would assist them to identify those who might be having the virus as soon as possible.
    Prof. Mosepele said although it was not mandatory to test all health personnel taking care of people with the virus, precautionary measures would be taken when dispatching the team, which would be doing the target testing.
    
    Regarding any prospects of extending the lockdown, Dr Masupu said as for now they could not tell if the extension of the lockdown would be enforced, but that they would be guided by the spread of the virus and the result of the target testing exercise. ENDS