By A Correspondent- Nurses have demanded that the government allows them to work for one week and rest the following two weeks in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) in health facilities.

This comes amid reports that two nurses and a doctor recently tested positive for Covid-19 at Sally Mugabe Hospital on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe Professional Nurses Union (ZPNU) secretary-general Douglas Chikobvu told the Daily News that the two weeks’ rest should be in self-isolation, in case they were exposed to the pandemic during working hours.

“The Health Apex Council met and submitted to government that we want to work a week in and two weeks off while in self-isolation. This will create time to monitor health workers for any signs and symptoms they may develop as the incubation period for the virus is 14 days,” Chikobvu said.

Currently, nurses are working between two and three days a week under a flexi-hours system introduced by the government through a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that was influenced by the nurses’ incapacitation.