Athlone police station was closed over the weekend after a police officer tested positive for Covid-19.
The police station was expected to be reopened yesterday, Tuesday April 14, after being sanitised and decontaminated. Work still continued though, with police officers working from adjacent buildings.
About 20 officers, who worked on the same shift as the officer who tested positive, were quarantined.
National police spokesperson, Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, confirmed that a warrant officer at the station had tested positive. It is the first confirmed case of a police officer in the Western Cape.
Faiez Jacobs, ANC MP for the greater Athlone area, said his parliamentary constituency office was informed about the positive Covid-19 case at the police station, and expressed his concern and appreciation for the work police officers do.
“We are sorry to hear this, especially because SAPS members perform essential services. We wish this officer a complete recovery. Our thoughts are with the officer, his family and friends. We are grateful for the services they and other essential services staff render to our community. We are also grateful that SAPS will continue to render a service. We call on all on our front lines to protect one another, enforce protocols. We also call on the public not to tempt this pandemic or to add to it being spread, but to stay indoors and to observe all safety precautions,” he said.
Meanwhile, it has also been reported on Monday that an employee of Shoprite in Athlone also tested positive for Covid-19. The shop is closed and is undergoing deep cleaning and sanitation.
According to the Shoprite Group, all those employees who were in close contact with their colleague are on a 14-day self-isolation.
This is Shoprite’s second Covid-19 case in Cape Town. Last week its Bothasig store was closed after an employee there tested positive.