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Four members of the Ballito Rage Festival staff tested positive for Covid-19, organizers said.
- Four Ballito Rage Festival staff members tested positive for Covid-19, organizers said.
- However, a doctor in Durban reported 20 positive cases in less than 48 hours, with the majority of the patients asymptomatic.
- Festival organizers declined to label the event a super spreader, saying there were no statistics to prove it.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize urged those attending the Ballito Rage Festival to get tested for Covid-19 and to isolate themselves, after attendees and staff tested positive.
“We confirm that we have now identified a number of confirmed Covid-19 cases arising from these super-spreading events. So, this means that if you attended any of these Rage events, you are now considered a contact,” Mkhize said in a statement.
“We now urge all Rage attendees to immediately go into a 10-day quarantine period in accordance with the Department of Health’s Guidelines on Quarantine and Isolation. We also urge all Rage attendees to test for Covid-19. “.
Mkhize also encourages parents to bring their children who had attended the festival for tryouts as soon as possible.
Rage festival organizers confirmed to News24 that four members of the event staff tested positive, while a Hillcrest doctor confirmed another 20 cases.
Dr. Kams Govender said that 20 patients tested positive for Covid-19 in less than 48 hours. All patients were adolescents or young adults who had attended or had friends who had attended the Rage Festival events in Ballito.
Govender added that the results of another 40 to 50 tests were still outstanding.
“And I am just a small consultation in Durban. Many of my colleagues in other practices have reported the same,” he said.
In a social media post shared on his practice page on Saturday, Governder said: “The past 48 hours have been overwhelming as a practitioner in the Upper Highway area with an influx of teens requiring Covid-19 PCR testing. This has been largely due to them attending the annual matric Rage event during the last week and having several friends who have tested positive for Covid-19. “
All of the patients who tested positive were between 15 and 21 years old. Govender said that almost all Covid-19 positive patients were asymptomatic.
“Young people generally have a robust immune system and recover very quickly with minor or no symptoms. However, this age group also tends to socialize in large groups and this will surely increase the spread of the virus during the festive period. “Govender said. .
The Discovery medical scheme group also sent out an alert, warning its members that it is “detecting high rates of positive tests for Covid-19 in students returning from post-matrix celebrations in KwaZulu-Natal.”
A spokesperson urged attendees to get tested and to isolate themselves if they have been in close contact with those who tested positive.
Large events had the potential to quickly spread the virus to multiple people. A super spread event was classified as when a single person transmitted the virus to more than eight people.
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Greg Walsh, CEO of G&G Productions, which organizes the festival across the country, denied that the event was a huge entertainment.
“It would be irresponsible to label the event a super spreader when there are no statistics or precedents to call it that … We are working directly with the Department of Health and NICD and they should be the ones to make any findings,” he added. he said.
Walsh previously told News24 that the organizers had made the decision to hold the events because the matrics were heading for the coast anyway and that the event organizers had “20 years of experience and a reputation for hosting an extremely safe event. and controlled “.
In a statement, Walsh confirmed that four staff members at the events had tested positive.
“Despite all efforts before and during the festival and at all Rage-controlled venues, we regret that we have received reports that some attendees subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. Additionally, we know that four staff members work on behalf of the Suppliers who reported to us directly that they tested positive, “Walsh said.
He added that organizers had added “significantly more health and safety measures” this year to comply with Covid-19 regulations.
“Our complete Covid-19 plan was submitted (an 86-page document) to the local health department and Durban Events Department prior to the event. We had to comply with more than 20 additional regulations to get approval,” he said. .
These included pre-screening, daily temperature checks, strict mask wearing protocols, hand sanitizing facilities, cashless payments, limited site capacity, and personal protective equipment for staff.
Walsh confirmed that organizers had sent multiple alerts to all attendees and provided all contact tracing information to the Health Department, advising them to isolate themselves and get tested, in accordance with NICD guidelines.
“We urgently advise that anyone who attended any Festival Rage event at KZN or any other event, bar, home gathering or other venue during the same period as matrices attended, be considered high risk and follow the NICD guidelines immediately (either symptomatic or asymptomatic), “he said.
