The latest Coronavirus death in Zimbabwe is the mother of former Minister and Member of Parliament for Mhondoro Mubaira, Sylvester Nguni.

He confirmed that his mother had no history of travel, stayed in a self-contained homestead with just two maids and two herders.

So far as her family are aware, none of her relatives from towns with confirmed cases of Covid-19 have made contact with her since the start of the lockdown.

She died in West End Hospital, where she had been taken when it was assumed she had a resurgence of an earlier non-Covid-19 infection. The positive Covid-19 diagnosis was the result of the routine test under the new system of testing all patients with flu-like symptoms.

The hospital has since stopped all admissions until further notice and patients already in admission are using the upper floors while the casualty department has since been fumigated.

Speaking in a telephone interview, Mr Nguni said he received a call from one of the maids at the beginning of the month saying his mother had a bout of flu.

He said then, they arranged medication for her and she seemed to have recovered.

However, he said, on Monday she began having difficulties in breathing resulting in them going to pick her up and bringing her to Harare for treatment.

“We are all still puzzled as to where she could have got the virus from. Our homestead is more like a self-isolated facility, which is detached from the rest of the community. She stayed there with two maids and two herd boys.

“None of us were in contact with her since the beginning of the first phase of the lockdown up until now,” said Mr Nguni.