By A Correspondent- Renowned Zimbabwean medical doctor Norman Matara recently told BBC World Service that the southern African country had witnessed a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 patients dying at home after failing to make it to hospital.

“We are witnessing more cases of people diagnosed with COVID-19 after a post-mortem has been done. So, from the number of people who have died, most of them are people who are dying at home,” Matara, who is secretary for the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, said.

“People are being forced right now to go outside their houses to look for money so they can feed their families. They are also being forced to go out and look for clean water. So social distancing is not practical, and that is why we are seeing cases rise.”

Nurses and doctors in Zimbabwe have been on strike since last month due to lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other concerns.

“The healthcare system is in tatters at the moment. Just last week, we witnessed seven babies die out of eight deliveries, because there were no nurses to monitor women giving birth,” Matara added.

Coronavirus cases in Africa have now passed the one million mark, with Zimbabwe’s cases shooting to 4 575 confirmed cases and 102 deaths at the weekend.

-Newsday