Coronavirus: South Africans in China don't want to come home - Health Minister

Some South Africans in the coronavirus epicentre in Wuhan China have chosen to remain in China over a return home due to confirmation of the virus in their home country, Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize said.

According to the SothAfrican News, the health ministry is expected to repatriate about 184 South Africans currently in China but some are opting to stay behind.

There are currently three confirmed cases in the African country as it joined the like of Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon and Morocco amongst others.

"We have also started getting indications some of the students are pulling out; they say no, we don’t want to come back. I saw a note from one of them who was saying when we wanted to come back the problem was in China. The problem is all over the world now we don’t want to come back to South Africa and start afresh," said Mkhize on Sunday 8 March.

"Maybe there’ll be a lockdown so the discussion is open. It’s not a big issue for us, we’ll bring those South Africans who want to come back, we’ll keep the others in China," he added.

The Grayston Preparatory School in Gauteng has been closed on Monday 9 March following fears that a staff member came into direct contact with those who have tested positive for COVID-19.

South Africa's health department is currently tracking down all the people who have been in contact with the country’s three confirmed cases.

The three were all part of a group of 10 that had travelled to Italy and returned to South Africa on 1 March.

"We have ascertained who the people are that would have got into contact with the first patient since he got from Dubai, up to the time he went to the doctor," he said.

"We’ve got the whole list — those who were in the plane, we’ve actually picked up information from the aircraft. We are tracing them all and those who were met outside the plane from the airport to the house, we’ve got that whole list, so we are tracing all of them together," Mkhize added.

The South African News