ZIMBABWE needs to strengthen and refocus on the measures
the country adopted at the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown in March if it is
to avert a local transmission crisis, a senior Government official has said.
In an interview yesterday, Deputy Minister of Health and
Child Care Dr John Mangwiro urged citizens to remain alert, continue practising
good hygiene and social distancing, as the country is set to experience a spike
in local transmissions. These have been on the rise lately. By yesterday,
Zimbabwe’s Covid-19 confirmed cases had risen to 698, with 107 cases attributed
to local transmissions, something that has seen authorities raising alarm.
From the tests done yesterday, 73 cases were confirmed
positive with 55 being returnees from South Africa, Botswana (three),
Mozambique (three), United States of America (two), Australia (one), Zambia
(one) and local transmissions (eight). The Ministry of Health and Child Care
also reported the death of one Covid-19 positive woman, aged 21, from Harare,
bringing the number of deaths due to the pandemic to eight in the country.
According to Dr Agnes Mahomva, the Chief Co-ordinator of
the National Response to the Covid-19 pandemic, of the 99 local cases (recorded
by Friday), 77 are directly linked to returnees while 22 are a result of
community transmissions. This has been attributed to the relaxation of lockdown
measures and the increased mingling of locals and returnees over the past few
weeks. Issues of sanitation and hygiene, and the fact that the country is
currently in the influenza season, have also been highlighted.
Said Dr Mangwiro: “The upsurge is a sign that people are
mixing up so we are saying let us stay at home where necessary and continue
practising hygiene, social distancing and correctly wearing face masks.
“For those that are coming from outside, they should adhere
to quarantine measures and not mix with others before they are tested. This is a
sign that we need to restrengthen and refocus on the measures that we had in
the beginning.”
However, he was quick to say that presently there were no
discussions of reverting back to strict lockdown measures.
“These issues need to be balanced, the economy and
Covid-19, so we are saying at individual levels one must make it a priority to
make sure they are protected and they protect their loved ones,” he said.
Zimbabwe is under Level 2 lockdown, where both formal and
informal businesses have reopened. Restaurants have also been allowed to serve
sit-in customers.
Epidemiologist, Dr Portia Manangazira, also said surge in
transmission was expected due to water and sanitation infrastructure which is
inadequate, as well as returnees.
“We were saved by the lockdown and this helped by keeping
the number of transmissions low. However, we are noticing that water,
sanitation and hygiene issues which were not up to scratch have become a major
challenge and have contributed to the spike of local transmissions. There is
also the issue of returnees in quarantine centres. Some returnees are not
adhering to quarantine regulations and want to be reunited with their families
that moment they came back into the country. Our treatment centres are also
overwhelmed so all this can contribute to local transmissions. The rise in
local transmission has also coincided with the influenza season. So we are
expecting an increase — that is the reason why we need all hands to be on the
deck.” Sunday Mail
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