GOVERNMENT has clarified the case of a British tourist who
visited Victoria Falls recently and reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 in
her country, saying the woman has actually not been tested and is only in
self-quarantine.
Last week, the woman, who is believed to have been in the
company of her husband, was reportedly rushed to Victoria Falls Hospital after
developing fever-like conditions while checking into a local hotel.
Medical doctors cleared her after she responded to anti-malaria
drugs and she exited the country via South Africa on March 10. In a statement
on Monday, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo reported that the
woman had tested positive in UK, raising fears among residents and tourism
staffers in Victoria Falls that the coronavirus may have spread.
After making follow ups with UK authorities yesterday,
Government established that the woman was not tested in her country as she did
not show symptoms of the virus. The director of Epidemiology and Disease
Control in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Portia Manangazira said
there was no need for Zimbabweans to be scared as no positive case has been
recorded. She, however, reiterated the need for people to be cautious.
“Contrary to what the media reported and after we made
follow ups, those people are in self-quarantine in UK in line with that
country’s guidelines because they don’t fit in the Covid-19 case definition.
This is what we got today (Tuesday) that nobody tested them and as such we don’t
have an official communication from UK that they tested positive although they
are sick with other problems. This, however, doesn’t relax our efforts to
monitor all their contacts,” said Dr Manangazira.
She said health officials will go ahead with surveillance
measures, especially following up on people the couple may have had contact
with while in Victoria Falls and even in other parts of the country.
It emerged that a travel agency that had raised the alarm
had not verified the information before relaying it. Fear gripped the country’s
prime resort town following the Monday announcement as residents felt the
tourism and health sectors needed to tie some loose ends to make sure safety is
guaranteed.
Some questioned the country’s preparedness to detect and
deal with the pandemic, which has been declared a national disaster in many
countries including Zimbabwe yesterday.
Workers at the hotel where the British couple had checked
in had put themselves on self quarantine although health officials had remained
cautious.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) Victoria Falls
chapter chairperson Mr Arnold Musonza called for maximum sensitisation of
citizens at all spheres of life.
“As operators, we have requested to be given guidelines and
offered to help with whatever resources are required to fully sensitise the
public. We are expecting sanitizers from South Africa as we feel that
precaution should start with us.
“We appeal to every section of society, especially
churches, to strongly adhere to safety measures because imagine if something
happens at a workplace, the same worker will go to a church gathering and then
home and the virus can spread to all those people. We need to be extra cautious
at individual level,” he said. Chronicle
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