Johannesburg, May 5 (PTI) South African health minister Zweli Mkhize has sought to allay fears of people after netizens expressed concerns over the entry of Indian COVID-19 variant in the country following crew of two ships- one coming from India and another on its way there- tested positive for the deadly virus.

The remarks on social media intensified after 14 crew members of a cargo carrier from India, which arrived in Durban, on Sunday tested positive.

The 14 were among the entire crew that was tested after the ship arrived in Durban on Sunday. They are now all in isolation as authorities start a track and trace initiative for all those who might have been in contact with them.

Another 14 crew members of a ship vessel that departed from Mombasa, Kenya and berthed at Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) on April 21 enroute to India tested positive for the virus.

The ship was allowed to dock after the captain reported that there were no illnesses on board.

However, criminal proceedings are being considered against the captain of the vessel.

“It is deeply unfortunate that the master of the vessel is found to have made a false declaration regarding the health status of the vessel and crew. South African Police Services have activated consequence management procedures and engaged the state prosecutor,” Mkhize said.

“We have registered the great concern South Africans have expressed over possible recent importation of variants of concern,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Reacting to the online posts, Mkhize said, "This has been a difficult area during the COVID-19 pandemic, which can often drive exclusion, mistrust and sometimes even racist rhetoric."

“We share our people's concerns but wish to reassure South Africans that we are a very capable nation that knows how to deal with the burden of a variant of concern. Our teams remain on high alert to survey, detect and contain the spread of COVID-19 in general, with heightened awareness of travellers from countries where variants of concern are dominating,” Mkhize added.

After the ship enroute to India docked at the port, the shipmaster reported an ill crew member the next day, who was immediately transferred out of the ship to a health care facility.

The ill crew member along with three other members who were due to depart by air to their home country were immediately subjected to PCR tests.

Upon testing positive for COVID-19, these crew members were isolated at paid lodgings.

Subsequently, a further ten crew members were detected with COVID-19 and are isolated for 10 days at designated facilities. The other 10 members that tested negative are in quarantine on the ship.

Both vessels concerned have been secured in port to ensure that there is no unauthorised access to and from the vessel.

The minister reaffirmed that the B.1.617 variant, which is circulating widely in India, has not been detected in South Africa yet.

“However, the genomics teams are working on some samples and we will need to allow the time it takes to sequence before we get an answer,” he said.

Mkhize said that the variant B.1.351 (or 501Y.V2) which was first discovered in South Africa remains the most dominant in South Africa.

“Indeed we have had confirmation that one of the samples taken from a traveller from India is the 501Y.V2,” he said.

The minister said one of three passengers from India who arrived from Doha on separate flights is in isolation at a health care facility after taking ill, while the other two are currently asymptomatic and in isolation at paid lodgings.

“This increase in detection of cases at the ports of entry is of deep concern to us as a government and we have been attending to this as a matter of urgency," he said.

“We have consulted the Ministerial Advisory Committee as well as the genomics team to guide us on the management of travellers at ports of entry during these challenging times.

"The government will be determining the next steps to follow and announcements will be made on the state of variants of concern in our context and what measures will be implemented to mitigate against the importation of COVID-19 in general,” the minister said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)