The Zimbabwean woman, who was quarantined at Wilkins
Hospital’s specialised unit in Harare yesterday for a suspected case of
Coronavirus (COVID-19), had tests coming out negative last night, which means
the country is yet to record any case of the disease.
Social media went abuzz late yesterday afternoon with
reports that the hospital had been sealed off, with medical personnel attending
to the 27-year-old woman who arrived in the country on Tuesday from China.
Ministry of Health and Child Care epidemiology and disease
control director Dr Portia Manangazira had earlier on been quoted in the media
as saying: “Yes, we have the case of a 27-year-old Zimbabwean who is being held
at the Wilkins Hospital’s specialised unit in isolation.
“She was in Wuhan and passed through Guangzhou where she
was certified to be Coronavirus negative and has a certificate to show for it.
“When she arrived, we were aware that she was coming
because the Chinese authorities had alerted us and we took the precautionary steps
of putting her in isolation. She is presently being monitored by a team of
experts, including Chinese physicians. We will keep the nation updated.”
In a statement late last night, Health and Child Care
Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said results of the tests carried out on the woman
came out negative.
“I can safely confirm that the Zimbabwean traveller was
identified through our surveillance system at Robert Gabriel Mugabe
International Airport having noted that she had been to the epicentre of this
Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan,” he said.
“In order to protect our nation, the candidate had to be
isolated immediately. To me, this shows that our system is working well and is
a sign of good preparedness.”
Minister Moyo said the tests showed that the country’s
laboratory testing for COVID-19 was also fully functional.
“Our scientists managed to test the traveller and confirmed
her to be negative for COVID-19 like what the authorities in China had also
confirmed,” he said.
“So, we can still guarantee the nation that there is no
Coronavirus in Zimbabwe. We will, however, as per protocol, continue to monitor
this candidate for the 21-day prescribed period.
“Our protocol continues to be stringent and protective of
our nation and to further strengthen our surveillance. We are now following a
scientific approach requiring all travellers coming from China to be screened
and quarantined for 14 days in China and if they are found to be safe they will
be issued with a clearance certificate to travel.
“When they come to Zimbabwe, they will still be subjected
to a further 21-day self-quarantine.”
Minister Moyo said case management training of trainers had
started at Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital and a total of 70 healthcare
workers were trained (17 doctors, 19 nurses, six laboratorians, two health
promotion officers, three surveillance officers and three environmental health
officers.
“We will continue to educate our population through the
media and information, education and communication materials,” he said.
Minister Moyo’s statement put to rest speculation that
another case had been reported in Rusape.
China is grappling with the COVID-19 virus and by the end
of Tuesday there had been 74 185 confirmed cases, while 5 248 were suspected to
have been infected with the virus.
A total of 2 004 deaths had been recorded.
On Tuesday alone, 136 deaths were recorded and of the
deaths, 132 were recorded in Hubei Province, one in Heilongjiang, Shandong,
Guangdong and Guizhou, respectively.
Tuesday also saw 14 376 people being discharged from
hospital after recovering. However, the country recorded 1 794 new cases.
Herald
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