Durban building raided following ‘serious’ COVID-19 complaint

A building in downtown Durban has been raided following ‘serious’ allegations relating to the COVID-19 lockdown.

While details of the complaint, and the subsequent nature of the raid, have not yet been made public, the department of economic development confirmed that the building in West Street had been shut down. Members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) assisted police officers in carrying out the raid.

According to initial reports, hundreds residents in the building had come into close contact with COVID-19 carriers and, as such, would be subject to urgent screening and testing.

COVID-19 tip-off led to building raid in Durban

As reported by SABC journalist, Ayanda Mhlongo, the building which was raided, and is currently being inspected by an army of health department officials, is the China Mall on West Street. According to the reporter, the operation, involving security forces and healthcare personnel, is the largest of its kind for the KwaZulu-Natal province since the country was placed under lockdown.

The raid was conducted following a tip-off from one of the employees, who claimed that residents were being ‘locked-in’ even after some started to show symptoms of COVID-19.

The health department has confirmed that it would take ‘several hours’ to complete the screening process.

This is a developing story – updates to follow