A woman who posed as a patient displaying symptoms of the coronavirus in the Eastern Cape could face criminal charges.

The woman presented herself as potentially being infected with Covid-19 at Grey Hospital in King William’s Town, saying she was employed by

Thursday after returning from Italy.

The woman refused to give staff more information.

On verification, it was discovered she was unemployed, and the story was a fabrication.

Understandably, doctors and nurses ran around testing the woman and taking steps to ensure the woman was isolated. The possibility to have a case of coronavirus in the Eastern Cape caused unnecessary panic among hospital staff and nurses at Grey Hospital.

“This was a childish and selfish hoax by the woman that is condemned with the contempt it deserves,” said provincial health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.

The Eastern Cape Department of Health will be opening a case against the women, confirmed Kupelo.

“Because of the seriousness of the [novel] coronavirus, the Eastern Cape Department of Health will open a case with the police against the woman who lied about having the virus. Her family confirmed to the department that she has no history of mental illness, hence the police will be roped in.”

A 39-year-old woman, who was part of the same travel group to Italy as the first case, has been diagnosed with the virus.

On Thursday, Mkhize released a statement saying the National Institute for Communicable Diseases had confirmed the first positive test – a 38-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal.

More than 300 people have been tested for the coronavirus.