Nurse found dead at Durban hospital after testing negative for Covid-19

Police are probing how a nurse who was among a group of health-care workers tested for Covid-19 died in a toilet at Durban’s Addington hospital.

The Democratic Nurses Organisation of SA (Denosa) told TimesLIVE on Monday that it was waiting for the outcome of a police inquest into the nurse’s death.

“We are waiting for a thorough investigation into the cause of her death,” said Denosa provincial secretary Mandla Shabangu. “The information we have is that there is nothing that is linking it to Covid-19.”

It is understood that the 33-year-old nurse had tested negative for Covid-19. Some of her colleagues who tested positive for the virus had been hospitalised.

Police spokesperson Capt Nqobile Gwala said the nurse’s body was found in a female toilet at the hospital premises in South Beach on Thursday.

“Point police are investigating an inquest and circumstances around the incident,” said Gwala.

The provincial health department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.