HEALTH Ministers from the Sadc region gather in Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania, today for an emergency meeting to come up with a position on the
state of preparedness and strategies to counter coronavirus.
Coronavirus was detected in China towards the end of last
year and has spread to over 70 other countries with South Africa confirming
three recorded cases in the past week.
Other affected countries include United Kingdom, the United
States of America, Italy, Australia, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, and
Senegal.
The World Health Organisation on Saturday said the global
number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has surpassed 100 000.
In an interview with The Chronicle from Harare yesterday,
the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Agnes
Mahomva, said the Sadc Health Ministers would be looking at how the region can
respond to fighting the pandemic.
“Sadc Ministers of Health are meeting in Tanzania to look
at Covid-19 and how we can strengthen the way we are responding to this virus
that has gone all over the whole world.
“The continent with the challenges that we have it’s
important that we are better coordinated and that we are putting our heads
together to be able to respond appropriately,” she said.
Dr Mahomva reiterated that Zimbabwe has not registered any
confirmed cases of coronavirus.
She condemned fake social media reports insinuating the
country has recorded cases of the virus where one person is also reported to
have died. “As Zimbabwe, first and
foremost it’s very important, I would like to advise the nation that to date
Zimbabwe has not had any confirmed cases of Covid-19 as we speak now.
“All identified suspected cases have been appropriately
followed up, tested and found to be negative for Covid-19.
“All the tests were conducted by well-trained local
laboratory teams. The results were confirmed by South Africa National Institute
of Communicable Diseases Laboratory were very clear about what we are doing,”
she said.
Over the weekend, messages have been circulating on social
media suggesting that a suspected Chinese female national who had been referred
to Wilkins Hospital in Harare had succumbed to Covid-19.
“Indeed, there was a suspected case of a Chinese female
referred to Wilkins Hospital who unfortunately died before she got there, but
she tested Covid-19 negative.
“This just goes to show that she was ill from something
else that just needed to be managed,” said Dr Mahomva.
She urged the public to rely on verified information from
the Government.
Dr Mahomva said Zimbabwe continues to step up its
preparedness to eliminate the coronavirus by heightening surveillance system at
national, provincial and district level as well as specifically focusing on all
ports of entry throughout the country. Some of the measures Zimbabwe has so far
taken, she said, include an inter-ministerial update and co-ordination meeting
held last week to make sure that all Government ministries are working together
because Covid-19 is not just for the Ministry of Health.
Dr Mahomva said Government has trained health care workers
on dealing with cases or suspected cases of Covid-19 should there be any and
test kits for the virus have been procured as some have come through donations
from partners such as the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“Now we have trainers who are going down training at
provincial and district level on all the areas on how to do surveillance,
manage Covid-19 and so on. “We have identified locations for isolation in the
country. Wilkins Hospital is just one of them, and we are working now to
strengthen those locations to make sure they have the basic things that they
require that we can afford with the resources that we have.”
Dr Mahomva said all hospitals across Zimbabwe have been put
on high alert for Covid-19 and the country continues to be guided by and
follows WHO guidelines and advice on surveillance as well as follow-ups.
In light of the coronavirus which has become an epidemic
spreading across the world, Government is urging the public to take the little
most effective measures of prevention that include washing hands with soap and
water. “Those kind of good personal hygiene approaches are so critical for
everybody but most importantly for us in Zimbabwe because as a Ministry we
acknowledge we don’t have all the resources that we need.
“But with what we have if we use it appropriately and the
public does what it is supposed to do to prevent this,” she said.
Dr Mahomva said self-quarantine such as avoiding going to
public gatherings or using public transport was also critical if people suspect
they have been infected with the virus.
She said her ministry has also trained provincial medical
directors and their teams including them prioritising ambulances or transport
for suspected cases to go to the nearest isolation centres in their provinces.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information, Publicity and
Broadcasting Services, on its twitter handle, said a male adult was presently
quarantined and being monitored after traveling from Italy. “He has no Covid-19
symptoms and test results were negative,” it said.
On the same platform, the Ministry also revealed that a
Mutare woman who returned from China on January 24 this year, and presented
herself to her doctor last week after complaining of shortness of breath.
“She was referred to Wilkins Hospital for Covid-19 tests
but died on the way. Subsequent tests at Wilkins indicated negative for
Coronavirus,” said the Ministry. Chronicle
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