Moses Ziyambi

Three family members of a Masvingo
woman who tested positive for coronavirus are still quarantined at Masvingo
Teachers’ College since local health authorities have not yet received their
own test results, the Provincial Medical Director (PMD) Dr Amadeus Shamu has
said.

The woman, who is the first confirmed
coronavirus positive case for Masvingo province, has since been moved from the
quarantine centre and is now in self-isolation at her home in Rujeko high
density suburb.

Shamu made the remarks while responding
to questions from journalists during a press briefing addressed by the Minister
of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira earlier
today.

“A team from the Ministry of
Health and Child Care went to her home in Rujeko and ascertained that the place
is suitable for her to self-isolate. She is asymptomatic and the team will pay
her daily visits as part of the monitoring procedures,” said Shamu.

Being asymptomatic means a
patient is not yet producing any visible signs of an infection even though the
virus, bacteria, fungi or parasite is present in his/her body.

The woman, who tested positive on
her eighth day in quarantine, came from Botswana with her daughter who has her
own two minor children.

“They have all been tested but
what remains is for us to receive their results so that we know what course of
action to take. We cannot release anybody at the moment since we don’t know
whether they are negative or positive,” said Shamu.

Specimens were taken on May 15
but very few of the close to 300 people housed there have received their
results apparently due to a backlog at the Bulawayo-based National TB Reference
Laboratory where Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests for Masvingo province
are conducted.

Some people at the quarantine
centre have grown restive, saying it was only logical for the other family
members to be treated as high suspects and be separated from the rest of the
people since they shared space with the a now confirmed positive case.

People who are
quarantined at Masvingo Teachers’ College complain that they are overcrowded
and poorly catered for, making the social distancing concept nearly impossible,
TellZim News has learnt.

The people began arriving
at the venue on May 06, and most of those quarantined there were repatriated
from South Africa.

Today, the place
accommodates close to 300 people, mostly Zimbabweans while the rest are
Malawians who were detained while on transit from South Africa to their home
country.

Some quarantined
people, however, told TellZim News the quarantine facilities themselves were a
potential coronavirus infection hotspot as social distancing was too difficult
to practice at all times.

“Though people do not
share rooms, we share every other amenity including bathrooms, toilets and
dining space. The dining room is worse because everybody is served at the same
time; men and women, hundreds of us crowded there,” said one source.

The quarantined people
are accommodated in Masvingo Teachers’ College hostels which they say are not
in the best of condition in terms of sanitary facilities.

“The toilets are seldom
cleaned and there is no disinfectant being used to clean them. The bathrooms
are not scrubbed and there is no detergent used. The problem is we came from
different places so there is a risk of infecting one another when the goal is
to stop the spread of the virus.

“When we finally get
released from here, we might need to practice self-isolation from our own
family members once more at our own homes,” said another source.

Others also complained
that the food being served was neither adequate nor properly cooked.

The 14 Malawi citizens
held, who include a pregnant woman, embarked on hunger strike for three days protesting
their continued detention there as they argue that Zimbabwe had no right to
intercept them as they were simply in transit to their own home country.

…Chadzamira calls for calm as Masvingo records 1^st Covid-19
positive case

Moses Ziyambi

The Minister of State for
Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Ezra Chadzamira has said the
province has capacity to handle the coronavirus pandemic as government was
equipping more isolation centres with all critical technology.

Chadzamira, who also chairs the
Masvingo Provincial Covid-19 Taskforce, made the remarks to TellZim News in the
wake of the province recording its first confirmed case of Covid-19 on
Wednesday, May 20.

“It is regrettable that one of us
in the province has tested positive for coronavirus but we remain strong in our
resolve to fight the further spread of the virus in local communities. I am
glad to say our isolation centre in Rujeko is now ready for any eventuality and
we will soon be done equipping the other isolation centre at Chiredzi General
Hospital.

“All these isolation centres will
have all the standard equipment expected of such facilities including
ventilators. Besides, all hands are on the deck enforcing the lockdown and
educating the people on what they need to do to limit their chances of
contracting the virus. It is against this background that we call upon people
to remain calm and to stop practicing fear-mongering,” said Chadzamira.

He said people should continue to
cooperate with law enforcement and health authorities that are working hard to
fight the pandemic.

“Let us work together with our
law enforcement agencies, let us practice social distancing all the time, let us
stop all unnecessary travel and let us practice good personal hygiene all the
time,” said Chadzamira.

The first local case is reported
to be a female who was recently repatriated from a neighbouring country and had been
quarantined at Masvingo Teachers’ College.

The patient has now been moved to
Rujeko Isolation Centre where she is said to be stable with mild symptoms.

Moses Ziyambi

Masvingo police have
been guarding the provincial registry complex for the past four days after a
staffer lost a bunch of keys allegedly to thieves, TellZim News has learnt.

Sources said a member of
the skeletal staff that is maintaining the offices for the duration of the
lockdown lost the keys after work on May 15.

Though provincial
registrar Sithembeni Chitsa could not be reached for comment, Zimbabwe Republic
Police (ZRP) Masvingo provincial assistant spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe
Dhewa confirmed the development.

“We are investigating
the alleged theft of the keys and I can confirm that the keys have not yet been
found,” said Dhewa.

Other sources said the
bunch contained keys for the main entrances and safes containing security item
registers, receipts and other sensitive documents.

“The spares are not available and it would be a big problem if the lockdown was to be
lifted today because there would be no access to the interior unless the doors are broken. People are worried that sensitive documents
will be stolen for malicious reasons,” said a source.

It is understood the
spare keys used to be kept at Standard Chartered Bank which no longer has a branch in
Masvingo.

The source said it could
be an inside job as there was a lot of infighting and backbiting over positions
at the office.

The provincial registry
handles citizens’ sensitive personal information; providing such services as
registration and processing of birth certificates, passports and reburial
orders.

At national level, the office has not been without controversy, with Registrar General  (RG) Clemence Masango, who succeeded Tobaiwa Mudede, being arrested and suspended from work without pay for corruption.

…say
lockdown has rendered many people destitute

Beatific Gumbwanda

Chiredzi residents have
complained that the 150 percent rate hike approved by council was insensitive
to people’s worsening earning capacity caused by the national lockdown which
has since been extended indefinitely.

The Ministry of Local Government
last month approved Chiredzi Town Council $54 million budget for the 2020 financial
year.

The budget relies on residents
paying 150 percent more than they had been paying before for water, refuse
collection and other council services.

At many ward-based coronavirus
awareness campaigns being undertaken by the United Chiredzi Residents and
Ratepayers Association (UCHIRRA), people complained that the new charges
appearing on their May bills were exorbitant.

At one of the meetings, Ward 6
Councillor Musingashari Musingashari faced furious residents who said they were
disappointed that council had made adjustments to the billing structure apparently
with little regard to the economic impact of the lockdown on livelihoods.

“We are surprised that as
council, you decided to increase rates yet we are in national lockdown which
means many people are at home earning nothing. What is the logic of increasing
rates on residents who are facing an unprecedented erosion of their
livelihoods?” asked on female resident.

Another resident said the new
rate structure was not justifiable as council had not improved service delivery
despite similar hikes in the past.

“This has no justification
because service delivery remains poor especially with regards to the provision
of safe drinking water. Many residents seldom receive council water yet it is
an essential service in efforts to improve hygiene and fight the spread of
coronavirus,” he said.

In response, Musingashari said he
acknowledged residents’ concerns but added that council had no options as
inflation was eroding capacity to deliver services using the old rate
structure.

“I am very much aware of your
concerns as residents but the hyperinflationary environment spares not even our
town council. We need to pay salaries and pay our electricity bills which are
not even affordable to us,” said Musingashari.

He said council also needed to
pay sugar company Tongaat Hulett which helps the local authority to purify its
water.