JOHANNESBURG – The community of Hammanskraal is in a state of panic as the death toll from the cholera outbreak rises to 20.
The health department says three more people have succumbed to the waterborne disease in the Pretoria North community.
Hammanskraal has been the hardest area in the country since the outbreak was reported in recent days.
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Government and health authorities are in a race against time to find the source of the disease so that it can be contained.
Forty-five-year-old social worker, Rose Masombuka, was recently discharged from the Jubilee Hospital in Hammanskraal.
She said that prior to going to hospital, she had diarrhoea and stomach cramps, which was later confirmed to be cholera.
“So I am appealing that guys, please help people. The pain that I felt and the pain that I am feeling… I am standing like this because I can’t even stand properly.”
Religious community leader, Moafrica Wa Maila, said that a lack of communication from government had fueled the panic.
“There is a panic, a high level of panic, there is lack of information on what needs to be done. The government is not communicating clearly to the people.”
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Tshwane said that it would be opening criminal cases against the Tshwane municipality and the Gauteng government for the cholera-related deaths in Hammanskraal.
The EFF in Tshwane has finished laying a “mass murder” charge against the Tshwane Municipality for the 17 deaths in Hammanskraal due to cholera.
Obakeng Ramabodu, EFF Regional Chairperson, says the capital city is culpable for providing residents with contaminated water. TCG https://t.co/SujDTMeKWB pic.twitter.com/dwU9COYkrr
‘ EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 25, 2023