Covid-19 patients cannot be forced into govt facility, court rules
The High Court in Pretoria has ruled that government may not force Covid-19 patients into state quarantine if they are able to self-isolate.
Lobby group AfriForum launched an urgent application, arguing that the regulations were “unconstitutional, illegal and irrational”.
The Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs failed to oppose the application.
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The regulations suggested that everyone who tested positive for Covid-19, regardless of whether they showed symptoms, could be placed in a government-run isolation facility.
BREAKING: AfriForum has just obtained a court order declaring that a person tested positive for Covid-19 may not be forced into a state quarantine facility if they are able and willing to self-isolate.
— Ernst Roets (@ErnstRoets) June 3, 2020
This is a big win for justice and freedom.
Press statement to follow. pic.twitter.com/QmJMKDdSIY
AfriForum’s Monique Taute says the judgment is a victory for the organisation.
"AfriForum achieved a victory in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria today.
"The minister agreed that AfriForum's application should be made an order of the court and this determines that the regulations should be read that people who are to self-isolate should be allowed to do so.”
Taute says the initial regulation would ultimately have given the government and law enforcement too much power.