A Discovery Health employee in Port Elizabeth has tested positive for Covid-19.

This is according to an e-mail sent by Discovery Health service executive Hennie van Staden telling staff that one of their colleagues had tested positive for the virus at the weekend.

The e-mail, seen by The Herald, was confirmed by four other Discovery Health workers on Tuesday.

“We became aware that one of our Discovery Health ECP (Eastern Cape province) employees has tested positive for Covid-19 over the weekend,” wrote Van Staden.

“Our colleague was at home since April 10 and came into the office for two hours on Tuesday April 21,  and was sent home immediately after experiencing symptoms.

“We’ve assessed all available information and in consultation with our highly qualified medical panel and in support of our continued efforts to keep our employees safe, we made the decision to do full flogging of our building together with deep sanitation in the affected and surrounding area.

“We will ensure that the building is entirely safe by the time you return to work on Tuesday,” he wrote.

Van Staden said the company had contacted all colleagues who had been in direct contact with the worker who tested positive.

As of Monday, the number of Covid-19 cases in the Eastern Cape was 588.

Nelson Mandela Bay had 276 confirmed cases.

Ten deaths have been registered in the province, while 25 people have recovered.

This is a developing story. Questions have been sent to Discovery Health.