Staff Reporter
The sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in the Fezile Dabi district could be a result of more test results being released by the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) in recent weeks, the provincial health department has said.
The northern Free State district has recorded 24 new confirmed cases, bringing its tally to 33 with most of its major towns now affected.
“This could be a result of test results being released by the NHLS,” provincial health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said by telephone on Sunday night.
“There is nothing unusual and people should not panic because there was a backlog which is now being cleared,” he added, in response to whether there could have been gathering in the area, resulting in the spike.
Among the latest cases, Heilbron recorded nine while Koppies has four.
Sasolburg and Parys each have three cases.
There are two new cases in Frankfort and Vredefort while Kroonstad and Deneysville have one each.
In an earlier statement, the provincial health department said it is doing its best to trace all the contacts of the people who tested positive in order to establish their status.
“We appeal for calm amongst the people of these affected communities,” the department said.
“Do not panic when you hear that there’s a COVID-19 case in any town as this is predicted that during these cold winter months it can eventually infect everyone.
“Although there’s no cure for COVID-19, we know that there’s a higher number of recoveries.”
Latest statistics indicate that the Free State has now recorded 266 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
There have been 128 recoveries and eight deaths, leaving the province with 130 active cases.
A total of 37 047 tests have been conducted and just over 1.8 million people have been screened.