Overview
- The WHO-led campaign, observed Tuesday as World Hand Hygiene Day, featured outreach events including a Gauteng drive in Hammanskraal to promote proper handwashing.
- South Africa’s health department said the NICD alerted it to several cruise passengers with severe respiratory symptoms as the vessel passed the country’s waters, triggering contact tracing.
- Officials confirmed two tourist deaths linked to the voyage, a 70-year-old man who fell ill en route to St Helena Island and his 69-year-old spouse who collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport and died in Kempton Park.
- A third patient, a British national evacuated to a private hospital in Sandton, tested positive for hantavirus and remains in critical isolation as WHO coordinates a multi-country response.
- WHO data show hand-hygiene programs can prevent up to 50% of avoidable healthcare infections and yield savings averaging 16 times their cost, reinforcing calls to fund reliable sinks, soap, sanitizer and clean toilets.