By NyaradzoBakari
BULAWAYO residents are filled with anxiety and fear as the number of coronavirus (covid-19) cases continues to rise, making the city top in the number of positive cases nationwide.
The panic comes after the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s covid-19 Wednesday updates that showed that Bulawayo was topping with ten confirmed cases.
According to the Ministry of Heath and Child Care, the city recorded an increase of five covid-19 cases on Wednesday while the another three were recorded on Monday.
Bulawayo residents who spoke to this publication expressed concern over the rise in positive cases.
Philisani Moyo, a Makokoba resident said the fast spread of the virus in the city was caused by failure to adhere to lockdown regulations due to the need to access basic commodities like mealie-meal.
“This is very scary, we fear for our lives because this virus is not to be taken lightly. Government should also review the situation because people are starving so they cannot just sit home while their families die of hunger. This is why you see people are always on the streets trying to make ends meet and most of us are found in mealie-meal queues because this is food we cannot do without and yet it is not fully supplied hence we find ourselves in queues where social distancing is not fully practised. How can we then escape from contracting the virus?” said Moyo.
Diana Siziba, a resident from Killarney said the Ministry of Health and Childcare’s failure to give enough details on some of the confirmed cases was causing unease among residents.
She said: “This is a matter of life and death where we expect to get detailed information from the health ministry so that we practice full precaution. I find it very inconvenient that we are not being completely told all the details which are pertaining to the pandemic. Details like locations of the cases are not provided yet they may be helpful for people to be more vigilant than they already are. This rise is rapid and causing us stress.”
Mthandazo Dube said lack of proper medical facilities was causing the fast spread of coronavirus and creating more anxiety in residents.
“Given Bulawayo as it is with limited health facilities I’m not surprised that the cases are increasing because we have hospitals with no bays for isolation such that when someone comes in sick, they have to sit in the waiting area along with other patients increasing chances of spreading the virus. I don’t think the city is well prepared with test kits such that we have one laboratory doing the tests for the whole city. This means the results take long to come and the person would be contacting many people before knowing they have the virus,” he said.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care urged people to practise hygiene when using masks to avoid infection.
“When you use a mask, cover your mouth and nose and make sure there are no gaps between your face and the mask. Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. If masks are not used correctly, they can be a source of infection”.
As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed covid-19 cases in Zimbabwe sits at 23, including three deaths.
The number of cases continues to increase despite that the country is still under its 21-day lockdown which is expected to end on Monday 20 April.
