Another 18 people tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday,
taking the weekend total to 91 and the cumulative total since the start of the
pandemic in Zimbabwe to 716.
Three of yesterday’s patients, and eight of those on
Saturday, were infected within Zimbabwe, the rest being returning citizens and
residents whose infections were discovered while they were in official
quarantine.
Of the 11 who were infected inside Zimbabwe, the medical
authorities are still tracing the potential source of infection for seven of
them. The other four are contacts of a known infected person.
The death toll remains at eight, including the 21-year-old
woman who died on Saturday. She had no history of travel but did have other
underlying medical problems, which the authorities cannot specify for patient
privacy reasons.
Although a large majority of Zimbabwe’s cases were infected
outside the country and were diagnosed at a quarantine centre before they went
home, the growing number of local infections, 22 as of last week, is of concern
to authorities and is seen as a result of too many people not taking the
lockdown provisions seriously.
Even the growing number of exempted people are expected to
wear masks when not at home, observe social distancing and maintain high levels
of personal hygiene.
Complacency is seen as the greatest danger facing most
Zimbabweans as the basic precautions need to be followed by all if they are to
be effective. Some people have complained about water problems hampering proper
hygiene, but others have noted that even a bucket helps.
On the more positive side, 181 people are now confirmed as
recovered among Zimbabweans, with others who appear to be better still waiting
for the confirming test.
South Africa, the worst-hit African country, saw its death
toll rise above 3 000 over the weekend, with the latest figures showing 3 026
deaths from 187 977 infections.
Thanks to the South Africans giving an early warning, and
assistance in closing borders early, South Africa’s neighbours have seen far
lower case loads and death rates but experts see this changing if people in those
countries become slack.
The world death toll has now reached 531 659, around a
quarter of them in the United States, where variable responses in the different
states is seen as a factor in the high infection and death rates. Herald
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