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Department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said the people entered the province through Tsitsikamma and Aberdeen from the Western Cape.
This came after Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane announced on Monday that approximately 10 000 seasonal farmworkers in the Western Cape had entered the province without being tested during the grace period in the first week of the Level 4 lockdown.
The Western Cape government at the time however said it was not compelled to test workers that were returning home. Under no circumstances were seasonal workers who tested positive for Covid-19 allowed to travel from the Western Cape to neighbouring provinces, the province said.
Mabuyane said they tracked down 300 of those farmworkers from citrus farms in the Sundays River district.
On Thursday, Kupelo said to date 2 090 people have been tested on the Western Cape and Eastern Cape borders, with 56 testing positive for the coronavirus while 29 516 people were screened.
This came as a total of 9 524 people were transported from the Western Cape between 29 April and 4 May, revealed Kupelo.
Eastern Cape Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba said she was concerned by the high number of people travelling from the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape.
“We understand that inter-provincial travelling is allowed, but having so many people who have tested positive for Covid-19 coming to the Eastern Cape undermines the good work that we have been doing and continue doing.”
She questioned why the 56 had not been tested in the Western Cape before they entered her province.
“We need all provinces to work together in containing the spread of this virus,” Gomba said.
There were also 78 people who had travelled from Cape Town who were intercepted in Elliotdale, said Kupelo, but he didn’t provide further details.
Kupelo said another 110 people had to be rerouted to Mpekweni and Fish River in Port Alfred for screening and testing by health officials.
They had also travelled from the Western Cape, said Kupelo.
All their contacts are being traced and will be tested, he said.
“As of last night, there were 849 confirmed cases in province, 388 recoveries and 18 deaths,” Kupelo said of the Eastern Cape.
Gomba said: “We would like to send our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the people who have died Covid-19-related deaths.”
‘They are going back home because the season ended’
Earlier this week, Western Cape transport and public works MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela on Monday dismissed Mabuyane’s allegations of “dumping” of seasonal workers.
“The seasonal workers in question originate from the Eastern Cape. There’s nothing in the regulations that compel us to test them when they return home. They are now going back home because the season ended. We are not dumping them in the Eastern Cape,” said Madikizela on Monday.
He said the Western Cape was prepared to work with the province but couldn’t accept “this constant attack and this doesn’t bode well for cooperative governance.”
He also said the Western Cape had confirmed the guidelines and protocols for the transportation of essential seasonal workers in the agriculture sector from the Western Cape to other provinces, which included up to eight checks.
PPE
In the Eastern Cape, one of the issues that has been raised is the alleged shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers at facilities, which has led to some strikes.
Gomba though denied there was a shortage, claiming that some of the facilities where there have been strikes have received PPE.
Gomba said the department will investigate why some workers have embarked on strikes citing a shortage of PPE.
The MEC has reassured health workers of her commitment to never compromise the safety of all frontline workers under her command.
She said in this regard her office visited a number of institutions to ascertain both the readiness and availability of PPE.
“We have been saying we would never put our workers in harm’s way. Our dedicated health workers deserve praise for all the hard work they have done and continue doing in this fight against this virus.
“Most importantly people must adhere to the regulations and stay home, wash their hands frequently with soap or sanitiser and social distance.”
More results are still expected from the National Health Laboratory Service, the department revealed.
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