by Thinus Ferreira
The morning show Die Groot Ontbyt on kykNET has gone into repeats for the rest of the week after a crew member was diagnosed as Covid-19 positive on Tuesday.
The Afrikaans Pretoria-based community radio station that does a hybrid broadcast of its content for television on kykNET has been forced to adapt its programming for the next 3 days, affecting GROOTplaas, Die GROOT Ontbyt and Kom Ons Praat Daaroor shown on kykNET (DStv 144) and kykNET & Kie (DStv 145).
kykNET is now showing rebroadcasts of Die Groot Ontbyt between 06:00 and 08:00 until Friday 3 July 2020. Due to the lack of the TV part of Die Groot Ontbyt, the radio-only broadcast will continue with Francois van Rensburg as presenter.
The building has shut down for a deep-clean with staffers who might show symptoms who have been advised to self-isolate and will undergo testing.
Hardus Zevenster, chief executive of the Bloudruk Media Group, says in a statement on Facebook that "the safety and health of the GROOTfm and Die GROOT Ontbyt personnel remain a priority".
"At the same time we won't compromise on the quality of the product. We've planned for this and there will still be good content broadcast until we can return to 'normal' next week."
kykNET's eNuus daily TV news bulletin this past Satuday evening on kykNET and kykNET & Kie was a pre-packaged edition with no live news after the studio was shut down for a deep-clean because of a new Covid-19 case at eMedia Investments' eNCA headquarters in Hyde Park, Johannesburg.
A growing number of local TV shows and studio lots in South Africa are shutting down and are being affected by positive Covid-19 cases forcing them to turn off the cameras as crew and cast members self-isolate as the TV and film industry tries to re-emerge after the national lockdown period of two months that started in late-March.
