Driver faces attempted murder charges

Police and other authorities were on the scene at Lagoon Beach last week.

A taxi driver arrested at the Lagoon Beach Hotel quarantine site last week is facing attempted murder charges for allegedly trying to ferry passengers out of the province after testing positive for Covid-19.

Police say the 35-year-old driver was on his way to the Eastern Cape on Thursday evening when he was stopped at a vehicle checkpoint in Beaufort West.

According to provincial police spokeswoman Brigadier Novela Potelwa, the driver knew he had Covid-19.

“The driver was tested on the N2 Tsitsikamma roadblock in the Eastern Cape on April 30. He was informed two days before his arrest of the outcome of the test.

“Yet, he allegedly proceeded with the trip on Thursday May 7 and was apprehended on the R61 road near Beaufort West en-route to the Eastern Cape.”

The driver and seven passengers in the taxi were ordered to turn around. Police and traffic officials accompanied them back to Cape Town.

Brigadier Potelwa said they were taken to the Lagoon Beach Hotel quarantine site and screened by health officials.

Police had placed the driver under arrest and the passengers had opted to self isolate in their own homes.

The driver had been charged and would appear in court after consultation with Department of Health officials, she said.