n the wake of growing panic after three confirmed cases of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in South Africa, some residents in the quaint, affluent town of Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, have told City Press they are “scared” and “terrified for my children”.

First responders from around the province have also questioned the state of readiness of their own training and facilities.

But others in the medical profession, including health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, have said the frenzy over potential infection was unwarranted, and had been spurred on by a sometimes irresponsible media, fake news, and social media.

The 38-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man, who was the first person in the country to have the coronavirus, works in Hilton and visited Hilton-based general practitioner Dr Robyn Reed this week after experiencing flu-like symptoms upon returning from an Italian holiday with his wife.

Italy is a known hotspot for the virus, with the latest recorded cases standing at 4600 and the death toll sitting at 197.

The KwaZulu-Natal man is currently being isolated at Pietermaritzburg’s Grey’s Hospital.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) teams landed in the province on Thursday night to start contact tracing.

Dr Reed and others at the practice have been self-quarantining, as have the patient’s wife and two small children, who Mkhize announced on Friday were asymptomatic.

However, the wife was on Sunday morning confirmed to have the virus.

The children’s school was closed as a precautionary measure, and it is not yet clear when it will reopen.