Durban - SEVERAL police stations have been temporarily closed after staff tested positive for Covid-19.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said a police officer from Durban Central tested positive at the weekend.
About 20 detectives on the second and third floors, dealing with murder and robbery dockets, will self-quarantine at home until next Friday. They are also awaiting their test results.
It is alleged that the police officer’s wife tested positive for Covid-19. He allegedly came to work knowing this. Naicker said the offices were decontaminated and were now operational.
Naicker said the Newlands East police station was also temporarily closed due to an officer testing positive at the weekend. The Community Service Centre is operating from a building opposite the Detective Services at the police station premises. The building will be decontaminated and services will resume today.
The Westville SAPS is working from a temporary base at the St Elizabeth Church in Salisbury Avenue.
Naicker said all members who came into contact had been directed to undergo screening and testing.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) advised those who are close contacts of a person with confirmed Covid-19 case but do not have any symptoms to stay at home. The NICD stated close contact meant face-to-face contact within 1m or sharing a confined space for more than 15 minutes with a person with Covid-19.
Home quarantine means stay at home. The NCID warned these people not to go to work, school, or any public areas. If necessary, talk to your employer and let them know you cannot come to work. Do not use any public transport (including buses, minibus taxis and taxi cabs). Do not travel. You should not have any visitors in your home during your quarantine period.
National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole said through the service’s Employee Health and Wellness Component, the service was continuously providing the necessary psychological support to infected
and affected members and their families through a number of interventions such as counselling and daily devotions.
Last month, Police Minister Bheki Cele confirmed that 1685 police officers had tested positive and that 14 officers had died. Of the positive cases in SAPS, 1034 were from the Western Cape, 119 from Gauteng and 186 from the Eastern Cape.