By Jane Mlambo| Government has been presented with a fresh headache after a malaria patient admitted at Parirenyatwa group of hospitals tested positive to COVID-19.

Zimbabwe witnessed malaria outbreak in low lying areas with over 150 people having succumbed to the disease from the more than 14 000 infected people.

There was never an effort to conduct COVID-19 tests on malaria patients but this latest development could present a new problem for the country.

In a Tuesday afternoon statement, the hospital made the blunder public exposing  the weaknesses in the country’s Covid-19  treatment systems.

“As part of the escalated mitigatory measures against Covid-19 which include active case finding through mandatory testing of frontline staff and admitted patients, a Covid-19 positive case which had been admitted for management of slide positive malaria on 24 April 2020 was identified at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals,” the hospital said.

More to follow…