2-year-old girl "raped" while in COVID-19 isolation ward

Reports say the unimaginable incident happened at the Dr. George Mukhari Academic Hospital in South Africa’s Pretoria.

The victim's aunt, who chose to remain anonymous to protect the identity of the child, said that the girl was sexually abused while admitted at the hospital.

According to her, the hospital told the child's mother that her daughter needed to be placed on an isolation ward after she developed symptoms of Covid-19.

However, the mother who then left home was later contacted in the evening and told the child was crying and appeared to be in serious pain.

When the child was picked up from the hospital, she appeared to be struggling to walk, and when the mother closely inspected her child, she discovered that there had been 'penetration'.

“The mother and child were referred to the George Mukhari Hospital by the KT Motubatse clinic in Soshanguve on June 15.

“The nurses at the clinic said since the child was struggling to breathe, she should be taken to George Mukhari Hospital to be tested for coronavirus.

“The hospital called in the evening and told the mother that the child was crying and in pain. They later called around 11 pm and said the child was now sleeping. The hospital staff called again in the morning and told my sister to come and pick up her child because she had been discharged. The hospital said the child had tested negative for Covid-19.

“I saw that there was something wrong with the child. As the mother was changing the nappy, she discovered some white fluid on her private parts.

“She initially thought it was medication as the child had been in hospital. But the following day, that same whitish fluid was still coming out,' the aunt told News24:

It is further reported that the girl was taken back to the hospital where a nurse confirmed that there was an indication that the child had been raped at the isolation ward.

Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters told News24 that a rape case has been opened, with the hospital also conducting its own investigation into the incident.