Own Correspondent|For over a month, ZimEye.com has been running a concern that Zimbabweans are dying of a rather unusual infection which the Ministry of Health and Child Care insisted to be ordinary Malaria.

In its latest reports, the Ministry disclosed that since February, 152 people have succumbed to the unusual malaria throughout the country.

What has been of major concern is that the Ministry has only been testing the concerned patients for malaria only and ignoring extending test to Coronavirus as the two diseases somehow are of extremely similar characteristics.

Communities have been up in arms with government demanding for Coronavirus testing to clear their fears and all this has been falling on deaf ears.

Government has now been caught napping after the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Zimbabwe’s biggest referral hospital revealed on Monday morning that they discovered that one of the patients who was being treated for malaria was actually Covid-19 positive. 

‌Below is the statement that the hospital released on Tuesday morning on the issue.

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 patient had responded well to the malaria treatment and was due for discharge. As management, we have since activated the COVID-19 Rapid Response Team and we are taking the following measures:

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1. Continued isolation of the confirmed case in his private room while awaiting for discharge formalities and recovery at home where he will be followed up.

2. Ensuring safety of staff and other patients through strengthened Infection Prevention and Control measures. Exposed staff will be counselled, tested and managed accordingly.

3. Giving psychosocial support to the exposed staff.

4. Decontamination will be done in accordance with national guidelines.

5. Testing of frontline staff and admitted patients will continue and appropriate support rendered to those A need.

6. Refurbishment of the Premier COVID-19 Treatment Centre A Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals is almost complete. As such, the hospital will soon be able to admit COVID-19 patients.