Andrew McPherson, a South African man who has tested positive for the coronavirus, spoke to Bronwyn Neilsen of The NielseNetwork. His hope is to educate people and to urge citizens to be accountable and responsible.
“This is a serious issue. We go on with our lives, especially in South Africa, we think we are bullet proof. The reality is that the virus is here and it’s spreading,” said McPherson. “The only way we’re going to stop this is if we all work together as South Africans and that includes the public sector, the private sector, and people individually.”
McPherson asked citizens to take responsibility for their actions; he says that if you are sick you should get tested for the virus immediately, avoiding this is irresponsible and puts people’s lives at risk. He is specifically concerned for elderly, weak, and frail people.
“The private sector need to stand up and need to take accountability for their workers on the front line. The cashiers, the customs officials, the cleaners, these are the people that are going to be hardest hit by this and these are the people on the front line who are going to be coming in contact with this virus every day. Companies need to get protective gear in place for their staff,” he said.
In his experience, McPherson says it’s clear that people are not educated about the virus and how to deal with it and he does not think the outbreak is being taken seriously enough.
On arrival home from his business trip in London, McPherson says he self-isolated. Apparently he struggled to get a test, but once he eventually was allowed to be tested the hospital he went to placed him in a room with multiple people including a pregnant woman. He also says that nurses who performed tests on him were not wearing gloves. This is the kind of behaviour he is urging against as it puts many people at risk.
Watch the full interview here:
Picture: Instagram / nielsenbronwyn (screenshot from video)
