Covid-19 testing facility set up at Menlyn Park

A COVID-19 screening and testing facility has been set up by On Demand Doctors at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre.

Resident doctor, Bianca Le Roux, said it was meant to offer convenience and limit the risk of spreading Covid-19.

“It is about convenience in the comfort of your car, and that is basically what we want for patients. Not all of the labs are working according to their capacity and they are overloaded, so we use different labs to help with that,” she said.

She added the nurses were equipped with everything they needed at their stations to make sure that even distressed patients got proper treatment.

Le Roux said the problem was that there were a lot of people carrying the virus and unaware of it.

There were people with little to no symptoms who tested positive, and this was why testing was critical at this point.

She said their main concern was high-risk patients with morbid conditions and older patients who were in a compromised state.

However, it was not only respiratory symptoms that people should be looking out for. “The signs to look out for are not only the fever and coughing that we see nowadays.

“Lots of people specifically complain about loss of taste and sense of smell. We have now more frequently seen patients with diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting.”

She said interestingly, coughing was almost one of the last symptoms.

“Patients with milder symptoms have been complaining about shortness of breath and also redness in their eyes that test positive for Covid-19.”

The doctor urged people to continue wearing masks and maintain physical distancing, as it has proven to lower case numbers and reduce infections.

The more effectively everybody worked, the sooner they could end the lockdown and continue with their lives.

The drive-through testing costs R850 and operates from 9am to 4pm, from Mondays to Fridays.

On Saturdays and Sundays they operate from 9am to 1pm.

*For the latest on the Covid-19 outbreak, visit IOL's #Coronavirus trend page.

** If you think you have been exposed to the Covid-19 virus, please call the 24-hour hotline on 0800 029 999 or visit sacoronavirus.co.za

Pretoria News