CABINET is set to decide tomorrow on the fate of the
Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) and Independence Day celebrations at a
time the leadership of host city for both events, Bulawayo, has called for a
suspension of all public gatherings amid Covid-19 threats.
In his state of the nation address last night, South
Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said his country had recorded 61 Covid-19
positive cases and had decided to close 32 of its 72 ports of entry consisting
of land, air and sea ports. He said schools will close on Wednesday until the
end of Easter and that visits to prisons had immediately been suspended.
He said after consulting widely they had imposed a travel
ban on those coming from high risk countries — Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain,
Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and China as from 18 March.
One case had been
confirmed in Eswatini. On Saturday, Namibia cancelled independence celebrations
slated for March 21 following confirmation of two cases of Covid-19 in that
country. The country also suspended in
and outbound travel from Ethiopia, Germany and Qatar with immediate effect.
Zimbabwe has no confirmed cases of Covid-19 yet, although
more than 8 700 people who entered the country entry as of last Friday have
been placed under surveillance for the virus. So far, Government has cancelled
a high-level conference organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) that was scheduled for Victoria Falls later this month.
On Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) postponed the
57th Committee of Sadc Stock Exchange (CoSSE) meeting and Second Brokers’
Networking Session that was scheduled for this week in Victoria Falls due to
coronavirus fears.
Speaking in a telephone interview yesterday, Bulawayo Mayor
Solomon Mguni said while the upcoming Independence Day celebrations and ZITF
were important for the city and the country as a whole, the health of citizens
had to take precedence. He said the country has a lot to learn from countries
such as the United States, China, and Italy which are on lockdown to stem
Covid-19.
“It’s a very risky situation to have such high people
traffic in the city at such a time. Personally, I think that all big gatherings
must be suspended for at least two months. City of Bulawayo should suspend all
public national gatherings, starting with the 2020 independence celebrations
and ZITF 2020 until we are sure that our people are safe from Covid-19. This is
my opinion. As people we must debate
around this thing and ensure that we reach the safest conclusion,” said the
mayor.
He said the country must take precautionary measures and
learn from countries that had suspended public meetings as a preventive measure
against Covid-19.
“If you look at global trends, they are suspending all of
these activities maybe for a month or two as they observe. If we are not fully
equipped to deal with this pandemic, why don’t we suspend these activities
maybe until end of May. It’s my opinion. I have shared my view so that the
people may debate around that thing. Look at China, Italy, Germany, they are
suspending these things and have shut down. ZITF is the riskiest because you
have people coming from all corners of the globe, including the hotspots, so it
may be safer to take extreme measures for now,” said the mayor.
He said BCC was still awaiting a report from the city’s
Health Services Department for advice on the way forward and assessment of the
city’s preparedness to host the ZITF and independence celebrations in light of
the Covid-19 threat. In an interview yesterday, the Minister of Health and
Child Care Dr Obadiah Moyo said a decision would be made tomorrow on Bulawayo’s hosting of
independence celebrations and ZITF.
“Let’s wait until Tuesday that is the time when a decision
will be made at the higher level on the hosting of the big events. Until then,
members of the public must continue to heed calls from the ministry to adhere
to high standards of hygiene, avoid unnecessary travel, stay safe, and report
to health facilities if not feeling well,” he said.
As of last Friday, the Health Ministry said more than 8 700
people who entered the country through the country’s ports of entry had been
placed under surveillance for Covid-19.
In a statement, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr Agnes
Mahomva said the travellers will be continuously monitored for up to 21 days as
per protocol.
She assured the nation that despite the growing number of
people under surveillance no positive cases of coronavirus have been recorded
in the country.
Dr Mahomva said the two suspected cases of coronavirus
which were reported at Mpilo Central Hospital and the United Bulawayo Hospitals
(UBH) last week came out negative as they did not meet the World Health
Organisation (WHO) definition of a suspected case. Two Zimbabwean women who
returned to Bulawayo via South Africa were last week taken to Mpilo and UBH
with flu-like symptoms.
Dr Mahomva said at
both hospitals the Covid-19 Rapid Response team reacted swiftly to the cases.
“The Ministry would like to report a 39-year-old female
patient who was presented to United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) with a history of
chest pain and fever. On presentation she declared that she suspected that she
had Covid-19 disease. The Covid-19 Rapid Response team immediately went to
assess her and found that she did not meet the WHO case definition of a
suspected case,” she said.
“A female adult who travelled from United Arab Emirates on
March 4 on route to Zimbabwe via South Africa reported contact with someone
with a flu-like illness in South Africa. She arrived in Zimbabwe on March 10
and was presented to Mpilo Central Hospital with a flu-like illness on Thursday
last week. Upon assessment she did not meet the WHO case definition of a
suspected case.”
Dr Mahomva said the Health Ministry continues to strengthen
surveillance at all ports of entry in the country in line with the
implementation of the National Preparedness and Response Plan.
The United Kingdom has given the country protective kits
that include masks, goggles among others worth £100 000. The UK is also
spending £1,7 million on the construction of a National Response Centre which
is situated at Parirenyatwa Hospital in
Harare that will be completed within two weeks.
On Wednesday last week, the Global Fund said it will avail
US$25 million to help Zimbabwe fight Covid-19 and the money will be used for
among others emergency response preparations at infectious diseases hospitals,
including at Bulawayo’s Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital.
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