This after a man in the Western Cape who claimed to have travelled to China in recent weeks was found to be lying to get ahead in the queue at a clinic.

CAPE TOWN - Provincial health departments have strongly condemned coronavirus (COVID-19) hoaxes.

This after a man in the Western Cape who claimed to have travelled to China in recent weeks was found to be lying to get ahead in the queue at a clinic.

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The province’s Health Department spokesperson Mark van der Heever said: “We ask the public not to use the COVID-19 outbreak for personal gain as this leads to misusing of resources and causes unnecessary public panic. We currently have no cases of COVID-19 in the Western Cape.”

The Eastern Cape Health Department is taking legal action against a woman who fabricated a story indicating she may have been infected with COVID-19.

The woman claimed to be an employee of the KwaZulu-Natal man who was the first patient to test positive on Thursday.

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