Nineteen people escaped from quarantine at the National
Social Security Authority (NSSA) Hotel in Beitbridge on Monday night, with five
others absconding mandatory quarantine at Rupangwana Isolation Centre in
Chiredzi, in the last seven days.
Beitbridge police were last night pursuing the 19 escapees
while two of those who escaped from Chiredzi have since been arrested while
three are on the run.
A combined 27 returnees have now escaped from the NSSA
Hotel quarantine centre since it started operating after the first group of
eight absconded in the first week, prompting authorities to beef up security.
It is understood that those who escaped were part of the
people arrested for facilitating the smuggling of groceries and an assortment
of goods along the Limpopo River.
National police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul
Nyathi was not available for comment last night, but sources said the 19 fled
between Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
It was discovered around 10am yesterday, when the group
skipped breakfast.
“Seventeen of those are Beitbridge residents, from mostly
villages on the border line. Two others are not local residents, but are
believed to have connived with the group.
“Efforts are being made to locate them at their given
addresses. “These were tested when they were put into quarantine and
are Covid-19 negative,” said the official.
The Director of Social Welfare in the Ministry of Public
Service and Social Welfare, Mr Totamirepi Tirivavi last night, said he was yet
to get a report on the incident.
The Beitbridge quarantine centre has capacity to
accommodate 280 people, but Government has set the maximum at 150. There are presently 48 people at the centre.
By the end of yesterday, all the people in quarantine had
been moved to one wing of the hotel to maximise security.
Recently, 41 Malawians who had skipped the border through
an illegal crossing point along the Limpopo River were intercepted by security
agents while attempting to hitch-hike.
Turning to the Chiredzi escapees, three of the five were
returning from South Africa and are from Zaka while the other two are from
Chipinge.
Chiredzi District Development coordinator Mr Lovemore
Chisema, who is also the district Covid-19 taskforce chairperson, said the hunt
for the three was underway.
“Of the first group of three men (all from Zaka), we
managed to account for two who are now back at the isolation centre and we are
looking for the remaining one.
“These three had undergone testing for Covid-19 when they
arrived at the isolation centre and they had all tested negative.
“The two men from Chipinge escaped before they were
tested,” he said. Following the escape, the number of people at the centre
has declined to 18.
The developments at Rupangwana came as police on Monday
night swooped on a house at Maringire Business Centre in Chivi and arrested
three Harare-bound women who had illegally crossed the border from South
Africa.
They were arrested after a tip-off. They had sought overnight accommodation at a relative’s
house at the business centre.
Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector
Charity Mazula confirmed the swoop on the three women. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment