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Third Zimbabwean Dies of Coronavirus


At least 11 Zimbabweans tested positive for coronavirus COVID-9. Three of them have died.
At least 11 Zimbabweans tested positive for coronavirus COVID-9. Three of them have died.

Another Zimbabwean has died of coronavirus in the southern African nation amid concerns of the government’s lack of preparedness in tacking the highly contagious disease.

According to the Ministry of Health, the person’s death brings the number of people who have succumbed COVID-19 to three. There are eleven cases recorded so far in the country.

In a statement, the ministry said the person died Wednesday at the Wilkins Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit in Harare.

“He was a 50-year-old male resident of Harare, who had travelled to the United Kingdom and returned home on the 21st of March 2020. He started exhibiting mild symptoms and alerted the local COVID-19 Rapid Response Team on the 1st of April 2020, which went to assess him at home and collected samples for testing.

“He was diagnosed of COVID-19 with an underlying comorbidity on the 2nd of April 2020 and initially, was being managed at home. His condition however deteriorated and the local medical team immediately went to stabilize him.”

The ministry says the deceased will be buried in line with Public Health Act regulations. Health expert say people who die of coronavirus COVID-19 are buried 24 hours after their death with a couple of less than 10 witnesses.

Zimbabweans have questioned the country’s preparedness in tackling the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed thousands of people in various countries.

The Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights on Tuesday claimed that the Zimbabwean government does not have the capacity to handle disease at local, regional and national level. Their criticism stemmed from the death of a Bulawayo man, who died at a top hospital in the nation’s second largest city without knowing his status as the results of his diagnosis were delivered by the government after his death.

The doctors’ association noted that the dead person may have infected nurses, doctors, patients and other people while he was inside and outside Mater Dei Hospital in the city.

The Ministry of Health claims that it is following regulations laid down by the World Health Organization in handling coronavirus COVID-19 even if it faces serious constraints like shortages of funds.

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