“It potentially places the lives of those patients and their families at risk, as well as members of the public who may have come into contact with any positive specimens.
“At a time when our country is dealing with a state of disaster due to the Covid-19 pandemic, these actions are reprehensible and the NHLS has taken swift action to terminate the services of [the company].”
Two other courier companies that are already contracted to the NHLS in the Eastern Cape have agreed to take over the routes and were in operation from Thursday.
NHLS Eastern Cape regional manager Tabita Makula said: “We are grateful to our other courier suppliers for stepping into the gap and assisting us at short notice. Their efforts to extend their service so quickly will ensure that specimen transportation will continue with as little disruption as possible.”