Over the weekend social media was abuzz with claims that the coronavirus has reached South Africa. A voice note has been doing the rounds on Whatsapp and people were falsely claiming that Lancet Laboratories has confirmed that the virus is here. All claims are have been debunked by Lancet Laboratories in a press release.
In response to the voice note circulating Whatsapp, Lancet Laboratories said:
“Lancet Laboratories would like to clarify that there has been no South African COVID-19 case identified. Testing done on patients this past weekend (28/29 Feb and 01 March) with the NICD are all negative for the novel SARS-CoV 2. The reports that are being distributed on various social media platforms about a confirmed case are incorrect.”
Currently there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in South Africa.
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