NURSE IN TRAVEL CERTIFICATES SALE EXPOSED

MBABANE – The source of the unauthentic COVID-19 test results, which allow people to travel out of the country, has been uncovered.

This is because a senior member of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) in the Manzini Region is in for a quick buck and exposing all emaSwati to contracting COVID-19. The nurse is part of a syndicate which is selling COVID-19 travel certificates from one of the approved laboratories in the country for conducting COVID-19 tests, Ampath Laboratories. The laboratory offers PCR and antigen testing for SARS- COV 2 COVID-19 PCR for both diagnostic and travelling purposes. It is situated in Manzini and is among the four approved laboratories in the country. The other approved laboratories are the National Health Laboratory located at the Mbabane Government Hospital, Lancet Laboratories and LIFESPAN Diagnostics Laboratories.

Diagnostics

The three commercial laboratories (Lancet Laboratories, Ampath Laboratories and LIFESPAN Diagnostics Laboratories) can be used by the public when seeking to travel outside the country and also for diagnostics, while the National Health Laboratory located at the Mbabane Government Hospital, was reserved for people who are sick and also essential workers. Since last year October, requirements for travellers crossing the borders into neighbouring South Africa or Mozambique were that they should have tested negative for the coronavirus.
 The Ministry of Health announced that people would have to pay to take a test at a private laboratory. The charge, according to the ministry, is E850.  The test would have to be done not less than 72 hours before travel.  Despite these stringent conditions to minimise travel by government as an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the senior member of SWADNU in the Manzini Region rendered this service at E400.

The ‘travellers’ who seek his services do not set foot in the laboratory but simply have to provide their travel documents page, which has all their details. This unravelled itself in an undercover investigation by this publication’s reporters after a tip-off that COVID-19 travel certificates were for sale in one of the health facilities on the outskirts of Manzini.
Last Monday, contact was made at the medical facility in which the nurse is stationed. Upon arrival at the health facility, some nurses were approached seeking assistance to conduct tests for travelling. The nurses approached did not entertain the request that was being put forth; however, one of the facility’s workers, who was at earshot of the conversation, pointed towards the senior SWADNU member.

He was at the time engrossed in his duties and after some time he was available. When approached, the request to attain COVID-19 travel certificates was made. He listened and shared his contacts with an instruction that ‘his services and contacts’ should not be shared with anyone. During the communication, the nurse relayed that the page with the details of the owner of a travel document was to be sent and an amount of E400 per person. The healthcare employee had been informed that a group of five people were seeking to travel to South Africa over the (past) weekend and given his pricing, E2 000 was to be transferred to him through MTN Eswatini’s Mobile Money.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: