BULAWAYO residents living in a seven storey flat in the city centre were yesterday subjected to Covid-19 screening after one of the occupants tested positive for the virus.
On the other hand, a Bulawayo resident who was told to isolate at home violated regulations by travelling to Gweru but officials declined to reveal whether the person had tested positive for Covid-19 or not. One of the two people reported on Wednesday by the Ministry of Health and Child Care as having tested positive for Covid-19 resides at a flat along Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street.
As of yesterday morning, Bulawayo had 12 Covid-19 positive cases with one of them being a 27-year-old Zimbabwe Revenue Authority employee. A Chronicle news crew yesterday observed the rapid response teams in their full gear as they screened the flat’s occupants of Covid-19.
Authorities did not reveal the number of people staying in the high-rise building but a handful of them were seen queuing waiting to be tested yesterday afternoon.
Speaking in an interview after the Bulawayo Covid-19 taskforce chairperson and Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo toured Thorngrove Infectious Disease Hospital and the Covid-19 testing centre at Mpilo Central Hospital, Bulawayo acting provincial medical director Dr Welcome Mlilo said the city’s rapid response team was placing a positive patient, a resident of a flat in the city, under quarantine at Elangeni Training Centre as the flat does not meet home isolation requirements.
“There are so many complexities with a flat. For instance, they (occupants) will be using one entrance with everyone else. They will be using the same staircase, they can be using the same elevator, so it’s a bit complex. We are aware of that and we are moving that gentleman out of that space to protect the rest of the public,” said Dr Mlilo.
Dr Mlilo said all the people at the flat where the positive person lived would be screened for Covid-19 as part of the ministry’s contact tracing procedures.
The acting PMD said local contact tracing was so intense that of the 12 confirmed cases in Bulawayo, they were reaching out to more than 100 contacts in each case.
He said the city’s rapid response team is still having challenges with people who do not want to observe self-isolation procedures.
Although, not providing full details, he confirmed that a city resident who was directed to isolate at home travelled to Gweru in Midlands Province in violation of regulations.
“We are aware of that report and the security service are part of the rapid response teams. They are activated in such cases and such individuals will be followed,” he said.
Dr Mlilo said Government will invoke the law Public Health Act and the Civil Protection Act to deal with those violating self-isolation regulations.
He encouraged citizens to be responsible and observe self-isolation regulations.
The local rapid response team had earlier briefed Minister Moyo on the challenges it was facing to effectively conduct Covid-19 tests.
They said they were delays in delivering consumables to be used for testing which could affect operations of the laboratory at Mpilo Central Hospital.
Minister Moyo pledged Government’s support.
“It was not a lab for testing Covid-19. It was a lab for testing tuberculosis (TB). What we have been impressing on the officials from the Ministry of Health and Child Care is go and look at the total requirements of converting this lab from a TB testing lab to a Covid-19 lab. They have given us a comprehensive list which we are taking and I think it will help in the procurement,” said Minister Moyo.
He said the laboratory at Mpilo should effectively serve the southern part of the country.