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984 pupils from Gauteng who went to matric Rage in KZN test positive for Covid-19

Gauteng heath authorities said they had made significant progress in tracing pupils exposed to Covid-19.
Gauteng heath authorities said they had made significant progress in tracing pupils exposed to Covid-19.
Image: 123RF/PIOTR PIATROUSKI

Almost 1,000 people from Gauteng who travelled to KwaZulu-Natal to attend the annual matric Rage event have tested positive for Covid-19.

The Gauteng health department said it had made significant progress in tracing the majority of pupils from the province who attended. Out of 1,322 pupils, mostly from the Johannesburg and Tshwane districts, 1,050 had already undergone testing for Covid-19. Of those 984 tested positive.

“These students had 340 contacts of which 32 tested positive,” the department said in a statement, adding that it “continues to plead with learners and their parents to co-operate with health-care workers who are doing contact tracing as this is an important process aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

“Out of the total number of learners 99 were unco-operative while the rest of the learners (173) either had supplied wrong contacts or were on voicemail. We call on those who went to the Rage event to quarantine themselves for 14 days and go for testing as a matter of urgency. Those that test positive will need to isolate for a mandatory 10 days.”

The department said family contacts of those who tested positive should also go for testing and into quarantine.

“Last week an increase in the number of positive cases was noted, with young people aged 11 to 20 constituting a large percentage of new cases. The department urges members of the public to protect themselves and others by avoiding the 'three Cs' — closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings.

TimesLIVE