defenceWeb Written by defenceWeb - SAMHS isolation facility outside I Military Hospital. With the first anniversary of South Africa’s COVID-19-induced national state of disaster looming, it should be remembered the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), in particular elements of the SA Army and SA Military Health Service (SAMHS), were among those leading initial preventive efforts. Acknowledged as the country’s first real exposure to coronavirus, a repatriation flight aboard an SAA airliner brought 114 South Africans home from the epicentre of the virus in Wuhan, China, to a bout of isolation at the Ranch Motel outside Limpopo capital Polokwane. The mission was executed under the codename Ditaba and was led by Colonel Mcebisi Mdutywa, Officer Commanding the specialised airborne medical unit, 7 Medical Battalion Group.