Thirty-four of the 73 returning residents in quarantine at the Zimbabwe Institute of Public Administration and Management (ZIPAM) in Darwendale were allowed home on Saturday.

Of the 34 discharged, seven had completed the mandatory 21 days in quarantine while the remaining 27 had completed 14 days and will spend the other seven days isolated in their own homes.

This follows declarations made last week by Health Minister Obadiah Moyo that government does not have funds to quarantine returnees for the twenty one days hinting at cutting the period to seven days.

In a briefing yesterday for the Ad-hoc Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Covid-19, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said health officers in the provinces would follow up the 27.

The remaining 39 returnees at ZIPAM would be screened and released once they had met the laid-down requirements, she said.

Giving details of other groups under quarantine she said: “Today five returning residents from Mozambique were quarantined at Rowa Training Centre in Mutare Rural, and in Victoria Falls, at Mosi-Oa-Tunya High School, 45 returnees were yesterday placed under quarantine.”

She said the identification of isolation centres across the country’s administrative districts had been completed and work was at various stages to ensure that the medical facilities are ready to receive and handle severe and critical cases when the need arose.

Minister Mutsvangwa said training of medical personnel who will manage the facilities was on-going.