Update
KNYSNA NEWS - Early last night (Wednesday 18 March), Knysna’s Ward 10 councillor Peter Myers and his wife issued a public statement saying they have fallen victim to the coronavirus.
The couple had just returned to South Africa from a trip to Europe on 13 March and said they had no symptoms.
“We showed no symptoms at all,” Myers posted on the Ward 10 Knysna - Councillor Peter Myers Facebook page yesterday evening.
“We passed through two temperature tests at OR Tambo. My brother in law brought dust masks for us, and we were the only ones to touch our luggage. At all times throughout our trip, we exercised as much care as we could. After being collected from the airport, we came straight home, and went directly to our bedroom,” Myers wrote. It is only later that they started to experience symptoms according to Myers.
"Our symptoms started on Friday night/Saturday morning. We both had severe fevers, body chills, body aches and headaches. That is all. I have developed a slight cough, but we are feeling much better,’’ he said.
After having been reluctant to divulge their identities earlier yesterday because the tests that showed positive for the virus at a clinic in Knysna on Monday still had be verified, the couple said they were advised by the clinical manager at Knysna Provincial Hospital to make a public announcement about their test results.
“Candace and I have tested positive for the coronavirus,” Myers wrote. “We are currently in day 5… All the authorities had requested that we do not go onto social media until advised otherwise. We have followed their request, and they have now told us to go ahead.’’
The reason for their reluctance to divulge their identities was also because initial results are not necessarily conclusive.
The Western Cape Department of Health was unable to confirm the reports of the couple having been tested positive at the Knysna clinic on Monday and reaffirmed that all local tests need to be forwarded to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases for further verification before anything can be confirmed. The Myers couple arrived back in South Africa after attending their godson’s wedding in Switzerland, and a short visit to Prague and Vienna.
According to Myers, they are reasonably positive they did not contract the virus at the wedding in Switzerland. “It must have been either at the airport in Zurich or somewhere in Prague,’’ he told Knysna-Plett Herald yesterday evening.
According to Myers, one of the most irksome aspects of the experience thus far has been the deluge of calls they have received since Monday when rumours and speculation started about their having been tested positive at the Knysna testing facility.
“The level of vitriol and blame we have received even before the result came out purely on the basis of rumour has been very upsetting,’’ both Myers and his wife affirmed last night.
“We will continue to be in isolation for at least another 16 days and longer if required,” Myers stated. “We will also keep posting to explain how the disease is progressing, and any insights we can give,” Myers shared on the Ward 10 page last night.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE: COVID-19: KNYSNA COUNCILLOR AND WIFE TEST POSITIVE
'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'
