HER child’s cries broke her heart. “Mommy, please don’t leave me alone,” the two-year-old wailed, clutching at her mother.
Justine Ndube* (27) and her daughter Nonhle* tested positive for the coronavirus and their lives were turned upside down.
After being admitted to Dora Nginza Hospital in Zwide, Port Elizabeth, Justine and Nonhle were kept in separate wards and didn’t see each other for five long days.
When they were reunited in Justine’s hospital room, she was shocked at her daughter’s condition.
“Her face was covered with mosquito bites and she was so hungry. My baby cried and I cried too when I saw the condition she was in.
“I could see she was hungry, so I gave her an apple and she ate all of it, and asked for more.”
Justine’s nightmare began when she confided in her next-door neighbour that she had tested positive for the coronavirus and urged her to get herself and her children tested too.
Justine thought she was doing the right thing. After all, she and her neighbour saw each other every day and their kids played together.
That conversation led to her fearful neighbours calling the police to have her removed from the block of flats they live in, saying she was a danger.
Justine was tested at the Port Elizabeth supermarket where she works after an employee at Shoprite in Ziyabuya Shopping Centre contracted the virus.
“The day after the test, I received my results. An official from the health department promised she would take me into quarantine at the hospital, but that didn’t happen,” she tells DRUM.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Homegrown Heroes
Drum speaks to two volunteers in the Covid-19 vaccine trial and the professor heading the team in Africa
The Big Clean Up
Whenever a Covid-19 case is confirmed at a shop, they call in the deep-cleaners. We find out exactly how they disinfect stores and supermarkets
I'm Back & Better!
Babes Wodumo shares what she’s been up to in lockdown – and there’s some new music on the horizon
Not An Easy Ride
Taxi commuters and industry players tell DRUM what’s driving them to defy lockdown rules
Mam' Mary Bows Out
Iconic actress Mary Twala is fondly remembered by friends and family for her humour and talent
‘They Lived For Each Other'
This Cape Town teen’s parents died from Covid-19 on the same day. Now she’s alone and battling the virus too
Stranger Than Fiction
For actor Mangaliso Ngema and his daughter Khosi Ngema, her role in Blood & Water was like watching their family’s real-life story unfold
I Was Raped By A Pastor
His accusations against a well-known man of the cloth turned an Eastern Cape man’s life into turmoil but now more victims have spoken out
My Fight With Life And Death
More Covid-19 patients, too few beds and staff, constant sanitising and personal fears – a Western Cape doctor shares her experience
I AM ENOUGH
Ten years after being set alight, Thembi Maphanga is living life to the fullest