ALL they wanted was a death certificate for their father, but they were treated as if they had the virus themselves!
The grieving family told Daily Sun officials at the Home Affairs offices in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, sanitised them almost every 30 seconds, even though the entire family had tested negative for Covid-19.
They were told to leave and come back after lockdown has ended.
Relative Fezeka Nkubu said the late Zenzile Mweli (86), a taxi driver, went for testing because he showed some symptoms of the coronavirus.
She said Zenzile suffered from high blood pressure, but he cared about his health.
“Last Thursday, the nurses said he had coronavirus and he should be placed under quarantine.”
Fezeka said Zenzile’s wife, Nobandla, erected a shack for him at the back of the house. The rest of the family was tested and the results came back negative.
“His wife brought him food and water to bath. She was there for him while he was in the shack,” said Fezeka.
“On Sunday afternoon, he was found lying on the bed and not moving.
“We were still hoping to see him recover, but he was declared dead by paramedics on Tuesday.”
Fezeka said his name was on the provincial health department’s list of people who had tested positive.
Zenzile’s daughter, Nolusindiso, said health officials should provide counselling and follow-ups. “Home Affairs staff were disgusted by us when they learnt my father had the virus,” she said.
“The staff wouldn’t even touch the documents. We were repeatedly sanitised,” said Nolusindiso.
“The staff made us feel filthy. It was as if I was breathing out the virus when I spoke to them.”
She said the death certificate was issued yesterday.
Home Affairs provincial manager Yusuf Simons said the family was turned away because there were no fingerprints of the deceased.
“When they brought the fingerprints, Home Affairs could register the death,” he said.
Simons said people were screened at the door.
“We have sanitisers and the staff wear gloves and masks. This was not our first case dealing with Covid-19. The staff are well-trained,” he said.
“I apologise to the family if they felt they were treated unfairly.”
Acknowledging the SunTeam’s enquiry, the provincial health department said it would respond today.
