UCT confirms third case of Covid-19

The University of Cape Town on Saturday confirmed that a third staff member had tested positive for Covid-19.

It said the person was a project manager employed by the university.

The first case at the university, which was confirmed on Sunday March 15, was a UCT-employed staff member, and the second — confirmed on Thursday March 19 — was a UCT-based visiting researcher associated with a department at UCT.

The university added that, at this stage, none of its students has tested positive for the deadly respiratory illness.

UCT vice-chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng said the three staff members were in quarantine and that the provincial health department had “immediately begun contact tracing in the respective cases and those identified as close contacts have been informed and asked to quarantine themselves for two weeks”.