Harare City Council was yesterday forced to close its
Remembrance, Mbare District and Harare Municipal Police offices in Mbare after
at least 55 workers contracted diarrhoea when they drank water from a
contaminated borehole at the premises, The Herald can reveal.
Council’s acting human capital director Mr Mathew Marara — in a memo addressed to Town
Clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango, Mbare District Office and Harare Municipal
Police sub-office — said the affected
employees were receiving treatment at Mbare Polyclinic.
“Temporary closure of Remembrance offices, Mbare District
Office and Harare Municipal Police sub-office after a diarrhoea outbreak from
August 2, 2019 to date,” reads the memo.
“An approximate number of 55 employees were affected and
some are receiving treatment at Mbare Polyclinic.
“Employees were drinking water from the borehole which is
the only source of water at the work station. According to the sample results
taken on August 6 by the quality section, the borehole is contaminated.”
In an interview, the City’s Health Services Director Dr
Prosper Chonzi said the outbreak was confined to the Remembrance Drive offices.
“Yes, I can confirm that over 50 council employees have
been attended to at our clinic in Mbare with the condition of diarrhoea,” he
said.
“So far the outbreak has only affected people operating at
the Remembrance offices and it has not stretched into the community, although
we are continuing with surveillance.”
Dr Chonzi did not rule out food poisoning adding tests were
still being carried out s on the patients to establish the source of the
diarrhoea.
He advised residents to always treat water before domestic
use and visit a clinic if they show any signs of diarrhoea.
“We continue to urge residents all over the city to ensure
that they treat water with aqua tablets, water guard or boiling it before use,
regardless of its source,” said Dr Chonzi.
“We also encourage them to immediately visit the nearest
clinic if they show any symptoms of diarrhoea, cholera or typhoid as we have
made a provision for them to be treated for free.”
Sewer bursts and erratic water supplies remain the major
drivers of cholera outbreaks in Harare, while water rationing has seen residents resorting to unsafe water
sources. Herald
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