LISTEN: 'We don't feel safe’ – Mpumalanga quarantine group
South Africans quarantined at the Zithabiseni Resort and Conference Centre in Mpumalanga have described conditions at the facility as shocking and unsafe.
The group is heading to court to demand their release from what they say is an unhygienic and unbearable facility.
The Mpumalanga Department of Health quarantined the group, including children, after they were repatriated from Mozambique on Freedom Day.
They were placed at the resort for the mandatory 14 days of quarantine.
But they have now approached lobby group AfriForum to take legal action on their behalf, demanding that the provincial government test them for Covid-19 and release them if they are negative.
"The state of accommodation was completely unprepared, shocking,” says one of the residents Douw Swart.
“The showers were dirty with mold, toilets didn't have seats. There was no fresh water. We were only told the following day that the water was undrinkable.” he added.
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The group has been at the resort for a week.
"For me, it feels like I should have stayed in Mozambique because I would have protected myself better if I knew that I was coming to stay in an isolation camp that has employees who come and go,” says another resident Nail Hardman.
“I feel like I am at more risk of being inside this camp and could contract Covid-19.”
Hardman says, despite an on-site maintenance team, only the toilet seats have been fixed.
A third resident, Craig Hardy, says diabetics are not being catered to.
"I am diabetic and in the last five or so days that I have been here I haven't been able to eat the meals that are provided, because they are not diabetically compliant. So it has gotten to an extent that yesterday we have started ordering food from the nearest Spar and are now cooking for ourselves.”
Hardy says despite his condition, he is more concerned about the health of the children at the facility.
There is also concern about a nearby dumpsite containing medical waste and other potentially hazardous materials.
The national health department's spokesperson Popo Maja says the facility was managed by the province and he could not comment on the matter.
AfriForum has confirmed the matter will be heard in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
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