President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday declared the Ranch Resort, in Limpopo, a green zone after all 112 South Africans who were repatriated from Wuhan, in China, tested negative for Coronavirus (Covid-19)

The ranch was being used as a quarantine facility for the repatriates, together with those who volunteered to undertake the mission.

Addressing the volunteers and the ministers who were tasked to facilitate the repatriation, Ramaphosa said the team has made South Africa proud and were real heroes.   

“We are now able to declare the Ranch a green zone. It has been a red zone all along, as you know, where we have put our students, the cabin crew of the flight that fetched them, as well as our military medical officers and the crew that flew them here in quarantine, together with the staff that works here. That meant that this place was declared a red zone. Now that we have gone past the 14 days of quarantine, and everybody who is in this facility has been tested and found to be negative of coronavirus,” said Ramaphosa.

“If there ever was a true representation of Thuma Mina, you are all the representation of Thuma Mina. For the longest time we have been talking about Thuma Mina, repeating the song of Hugh Masekela but I cannot think of a single moment where it is really truly represented in a practical effect than this moment. I would like to thank you on behalf of all South Africans for agreeing to be sent. What makes it more important is that once a mission was conceptualised, you all said ‘send me, President,. I thank you because you volunteered, you were not commandeered, you were not drawn and dragged out of wherever you were, you just stepped forward,” said Ramaphosa.

He said he characterised their mission as the most dangerous mission because they agreed to go to the epicentre of the virus.

“Not many people would voluntarily said, ‘I am willing to go to danger zone’. I can understand with soldiers, they are sent to all missions and they have to go because of the oath that they took but yourselves as the pilots of our South African airways (SAA) flights, as a cabin crew of the SAA flight, as officials and embassy and Home Affairs and also the health department, you deliberately said you are going to the dangerous zone, we would like to thank you”.

He congratulated the team for executing the mission perfectly and with “great distinction” and for “making history”.

He went on to thank the volunteers for agreeing to be quarantined for 14 days, as a precautionary measure.

Ramaphosa also thanked the families who supported the volunteers to undertake the mission.

To date South African Department of Health has confirmed that there are 1 187 confirmed cases of the virus, with one death of a 48-year old patient that was reported in the Western Cape, on Friday.

Ramaphosa reminded the volunteers to exercise the precautions of washing hands and keeping social distance.

“You were showing that South Africa, as a nation and a government of the country, cares. That is why we brought our children and their families home and now we are ready to take them back to their families to re-join their families and for this we truly thank you we know that this is a mission that you will once again be willing to execute,” he said.