When Tygerberg Hospital registered nurse Thokozani Makaula, 38, developed flu-like symptoms three weeks ago her family didn’t read too much into it.
“We thought that it’s just flu that we all get around this time of the year. We were kind of relaxed about it as she had just tested negative for Covid-19 two weeks earlier after she came into contact with colleagues that had the virus,” said her sister, Nolindo Makaula.
Even after she was turned away by a private doctor who wouldn’t treat her, the single mother of three still went home to rest with her three children, aged between three and 18.
Makaula admits that the penny dropped that her sister might have Covid-19 after she developed shortness of breath at home and had to be rushed to hospital by ambulance.