Truck with coronavirus test samples hijacked in South Africa

Police in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, are investigating the hijacking of a truck transporting biological samples, including coronavirus test samples.

The truck that transported samples for the National Health Laboratory (NHL) services was hijacked yesterday in Motherwell.

It was abandoned shortly after, but some of the biological samples are missing.

Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, has condemned the criminal act.

The public has been warned that the specimens are bio-hazardous.

“Anyone who sees the white container must report it to the police. We made that plea to the NHL so to ensure everyone is alert. We are happy these issues are being followed up. I spoke to the SG when I got that report to make sure that issues like these be attended to. We are working together with all our agencies and our state-owned entities in the health sector to deal with these kinds of challenges moving forward.”

More than 2.5 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in South Africa. There are currently 871 coronavirus deaths in the Eastern Cape with 65 316 cases.