COVID-19 positive taxi driver forced into isolation, faces attempted murder rap

A COVID-19 positive taxi driver will be charged with attempted murder and has been placed in forced isolation, police revealed on Friday 1 May.

COVID-19 positive taxi driver faces attempted murder charges

The 35-year-old male had been tested for the virus on 30 April after being stopped at a roadblock near Tsitsikamma in the Eastern Cape. The driver was reportedly informed of his positive results on Wednesday 6 May but decided to undertake a journey on 7 May.

The COVID-19 positive taxi driver was stopped again in a roadblock near Beaufort West in the Western Cape. Police records informed officers that the driver should not be on the road.

According to South African Police Services spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa the COVID-19 positive taxi driver will face charges of attempted murder as well as multiple contraventions of the National Disaster Management Act or so-called ‘lockdown regulations.

The unnamed COVID-19 positive taxi driver was reportedly making the journey back to the Eastern Cape when he was stopped.

“A 35-year-old taxi driver is facing attempted murder charges (read with DMA Regulation 14(3) and in a quarantine site in Cape Town after he was stopped in a vehicle checkpoint (VCP) on the R61 in Beaufort West yesterday ferrying about seven passengers. 

“The driver, who had apparently tested positive for the virus after taking a test on 30 April 2020 on the N2 Tsitsikamma roadblock in the Eastern Cape, was duly informed two days ago by the testing authority of the outcome of the test. Yet, he allegedly proceeded with the trip on Thursday 7 May 2020 and was apprehended on the R61 road near Beaufort West en-route to the Eastern Cape.”

Passengers to purgatory

The COVID-19 positive taxi driver and his seven passengers have been taken to Cape Town and placed in quarantine.

A police spokesperson said that all officers, from the SAPS and traffic department, who came into contact with the COVID-19 positive taxi driver would be tested and monitored.

While the SAPS have declared their intent to charge the driver with attempted murder, he will only be charged once investigators have consulted with health officials.

“The police and traffic officials who escorted the driver and passengers back to Cape Town will undergo the necessary monitoring in line with COVID-19 protocols, as a precaution.

“The police will ensure the driver is charged and appears before a court of law after consultation with the department of health officials.”

The SAPS have issued a pleas to all citizens to respect the rule of law.