THREE suspected cases of coronavirus have been reported at
Mpilo Central Hospital and the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH).
The city’s emergency services have reacted swiftly to the
cases. So far, no one has tested positive of the virus in Zimbabwe despite
numerous suspected cases.
A Zimbabwean woman who is said to have travelled to Dubai
and returned to Bulawayo via South Africa this week was taken to Mpilo Central
Hospital with flu-like symptoms.
The hospital’s Public Relations Officer Mr Ozias Ndlovu
confirmed the incident yesterday.
While stressing that the hospital was just following laid
down emergency response procedures, he said the patient has not yet tested
positive for Covid-19 and it could have been a false alarm. “We received a
patient who presented herself this afternoon. She showed flu like symptoms. She
had travelled to Dubai and returned via South Africa. She arrived in the city
sometime this week. She said her husband in South Africa also had flu. However, we are taking all the necessary
precautions to ensure that we treat the matter carefully as we cannot be lax,”
he said.
“We are working on
modalities to transfer the patient to Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital.”
Later, Mr Ndlovu said the woman was examined by the Rapid
Response Team (RRT) and appears to be free of the virus.
“However, we have put her under self-quarantine at her home
for 21 days as an additional precaution,” he said.
At UBH two people who were said to have recently travelled
to Italy allegedly presented at the hospital with Coronavirus like
symptoms. UBH Clinical Director Dr
Narcisius Dzvanga dismissed the allegations and said UBH had not attended to
any white patients in a very long time.
The patients were allegedly attended to by personnel from
Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital, who had to be called to the scene when
nurses at UBH refused to attend to them.
Bulawayo City Council, which runs Thorngrove Infectious
Diseases Hospital said they did not receive the matter and referred questions
to UBH staff.
In a Press statement, BCC senior public relations officer
Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the city has a rapid response team on call to attend to
suspected Covid-19 cases.
“It (RRT) responds to calls from all over the city to
assess if the client fits the WHO case definition for Covid-19 and then either;
Causes the patient to be moved to Thorngrove, along with follow up provisions
for isolation, or/ and excludes the patient as a suspect, hence the patient can
have all their medical services in the usual manner,” she said.
She said council was training health staff to capacitate
them to deal the virus. Chronicle
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