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Two-week-old baby left in plastic bag outside Cape Town hospital

  • Police are trying to find the parents of a baby left in a plastic bag outside the Bellville Melomed Hospital on Tuesday. 
  • The baby girl was abandoned at around 17:50 outside the hospital. 
  • Inside the packet, the baby was found wrapped in a green towel; her parents have not been located yet. 

A baby, believed to be about two weeks old, was found wrapped in a green towel in an abandoned plastic bag outside the Melomed Hospital in Bellville on Tuesday. 

The hospital said a security guard found the little girl on the ramp leading to the hospital around 17:50. 

"The baby was then taken into the hospital and the staff medically examined, bathed, fed and treated the baby," said spokesperson Shameema Adams.

The Department of Social Development has been informed - and the baby's picture is being circulated by the Pink Ladies, who try to reunite families or help find missing people.

Bellville baby
The baby who was left outside a hospital in Bellville (Pink Ladies)

In the meantime, the tiny tot is being cared for in the hospital's paediatric unit. She has also been tested for Covid-19, so that whoever fosters her will know what sort of care she will need. 

"The age of the baby still to be confirmed, but she is doing well and loved by the staff," said Adams. 

Police spokesperson Mihlali Majikela said anybody who can help the Bellville police locate her parents can contact Detective Sergeant R. Davids on 082 522 1095 or on 021 590 1001/1010 or 021 918 3000 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.

Police have opened a case of child abandonment. 

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