Gauteng Health Dept warns it won't be able to deal with communicable diseases if foreign nationals prevented from accessing healthcare facilities

JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng Health Department warned that it would not be able to effectively deal with communicable diseases if foreign nationals were prevented from accessing healthcare facilities.

Over the past few weeks, members of the controversial group Operation Dudula have been blocking people from accessing public hospitals and clinics.

The group claims it is only preventing undocumented foreigners; however government said that only home affairs immigration officials had the authority to determine who was documented or not.

The Gauteng Health Department said that managers from all its facilities had been briefed to call police if there were people blocking others from accessing care.

The department’s acting chief operating officer, Dr Percy Selepe, said they were tasked with protecting communities from diseases.

"I will make an example: We are dealing with measles, we are dealing with Mpox and other communicable diseases, and if we cannot treat one person who is going to infect hundreds of people, we will be held liable and show irresponsibility as the department."

Operation Dudula has claimed congestion at public facilities has eased as a result of its actions; however, the National Department of Health said there was no evidence to support this.