THIRTY employees at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Authority
(ZBC) have tested positive for Covid-19.
The development follows last month’s incident where the
public broadcaster had to suspend normal programming after one employee tested
positive for the killer virus.
ZBC confirmed the latest development yesterday through a
statement posted on microblogging site Twitter.
“The ZBC wishes to advise that 30 members of staff have
tested positive for Covid-19. All 30 are currently isolating at home. The
corporation continues to follow Government and World Health Organisation (WHO)
guidelines with periodic testing, premises disinfection and personal protective
equipment provision,” tweeted the public broadcaster.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Permanent
Secretary Mr Nick Mangwana, wished the infected staff a speedy recovery, while
asserting that the media sector is part of the frontline workers.
He said five of the employees had mild symptoms while the
rest were asymptomatic.
“We wish all ZBC staff members who tested positive a quick
recovery. We are comforted in that of the 30 who are positive, only five are
showing mild symptoms and the rest are asymptomatic. We have always said media
staff are frontline workers. These results attest to that,” he said.
Frontline workers are among the worst affected by Covid-19
largely due to the nature of their jobs that puts them at high risk of
contracting the virus.
Young Journalists Association (Yoja) last month lobbied the
Government to minimise Press conferences among other face to face gatherings as
they could increase the risk of journalists contracting Covid-19.
The association also encouraged media houses to equip
journalists with tools to enable them to work from home.
The workplace continues to be one of the country’s Covid-19
hotspots as cases continue to rise.
On Monday the country had recorded 4 748 Covid-19 positive
cases including 1 524 recoveries and 104 deaths.
Organisations such as Cimas, United Refineries, Zimbabwe
Revenue Authority (Zimra), Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ) have had to
temporarily shut down their premises after employees tested positive for
Covid-19 to allow for disinfection of the affected areas. Chronicle
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