President Cyril Ramaphosa is in self-quarantine, the presidency confirmed on Wednesday.
Ramaphosa had attended a fundraising dinner at the weekend and a guest who also attended the event had tested positive for the coronavirus. The president is showing no symptoms and will do regular tests, the presidency said.
Ramaphosa's office explained that the dinner, which was a fundraising event for the Adopt-a-School- Foundation, was attended by 35 guests and was held at a hotel in Johannesburg following Covid-19 protocol.
One of the guests began showing symptoms on Sunday and other guests were notified on Tuesday of the guest's positive test results.
President @CyrilRamaphosa has begun a period of self-quarantine following the positive #COVID19 diagnosis of a guest at a dinner attended by the President on Saturday, 24 October 2020. https://t.co/VyVk9GUNcT
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 (@PresidencyZA) October 28, 2020
"The event adhered stringently to Covid-19 protocols and directives on screening, social distancing and the wearing of masks. As was the case with all guests, the President himself removed his mask only when dining and addressing the guests.
"The Adopt-a-School Foundation advised dinner guests yesterday, Tuesday, 27 October, that a guest had shown symptoms on Sunday and had been tested on Monday before receiving a positive result yesterday," the presidency said.
"The foundation became aware of this development and communicated this to guests yesterday, hours after the President had performed the unveiling of a statue of liberation icon OR Tambo and the official opening of a new Radisson hotel and convention centre in Ekurhuleni in the morning."
Ramaphosa is expected to continue to perform his duties remotely.
"The president is screened regularly by the South African Military Health Service and subjects himself to screening at venues where he participates in engagements," the presidency said.
