A nine-month-old baby from Maphisa in Matabeleland South
Province who allegedly travelled to Bulawayo with her mother last week has died
of Covid-19, becoming the first child in the country to succumb to the virus.
The baby was admitted to Maphisa District Hospital last
Friday with severe pneumonia and died the following day.
It was only discovered that she had succumbed to Covid-19
after her death through a post-mortem and was buried on Wednesday at the
family’s rural home in Silawa, Maphisa.
Preliminary investigations by the Ministry of Health and
Child Care have shown that the child travelled to Bulawayo with her mother some
time last week.
The mother who lives in Garikai Houses in Maphisa has now
been placed under isolation at her home.
Matabeleland South Provincial Medical Director, Dr Rudo
Chikodzore said this was the first Covid-19 related death of a child recorded
in the country.
“As Matabeleland South Province we recorded a Covid-19
death of a nine-month-old female baby from Maphisa area in Matobo District.
“The child died on Saturday at Maphisa District Hospital
after she was admitted with severe pneumonia. A post-mortem was then conducted
and it revealed that the child had succumbed to Covid-19. These results came in
yesterday (Tuesday),” said Dr Chikodzore.
“Investigations have shown that the child travelled to
Bulawayo some time last week and upon returning she fell ill. This is a local
transmission case. We have started making follow ups and we have informed
authorities in Bulawayo and we are making follow ups to find the addresses of
the people they visited while in Bulawayo.
“We are also tracing contacts within the local community.
We have been recording cases of children testing positive for the pandemic
across the country but this is the first death.”
In a statement released on Tuesday night, the Ministry of
Health and Child Care said it regretted the baby’s death.
A senior health official who has been directly handling the
matter said they have been struggling to get information from the bereaved
family as they have not been co-operative. He said the authenticity of some of
the information is questionable.
The official also said members of the family were also
giving contradicting explanations on issues surrounding the death of the baby
and the travel history.
“This family has been giving us problems when it comes to
supplying us with information as they are not forthcoming.
“It might take us longer to gather all the details as we
also have to consider that this is a bereaved family and we have to be patient
with them,” said the official on condition of anonymity.
The mother of the late child said her daughter was buried
under strict supervision by Ministry of Health and Child Care officers and
there were about 20 people. She said the burial was conducted in line with the
Covid-19 regulations.
The woman said she had been placed under isolation at her
home for the next 14 days, but had not yet been tested for Covid-19. She said
she was advised to contact health officials once she experiences any pain.
The bereaved mother said she however, does not believe that
her child succumbed to Covid-19 as reported by health officials. She also said
they had not travelled to Bulawayo as alleged.
“My child was born with an asthma problem and when I took
her to hospital, she had experienced an asthma attack. Unfortunately, she died
the following day and all I know is that it was because of an asthma attack and
not Covid-19.
“I don’t understand how my child could have contracted this
virus as we have not been mobile since the outbreak was reported and the lockdown
was introduced,” she said.
“We stay in Maphisa and that’s where we have remained over
the past months without travelling.
“We last travelled to Bulawayo before the lockdown came
into effect. My husband has been away for some time.
“I don’t understand how they could say my child succumbed
to the pandemic. I’m not aware that my child was tested for Covid-19 or that a
post-mortem was conducted.” Chronicle
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