adminMasvingo Bureau
Health officials in Masvingo have collected specimens from 240 returnees at Masvingo Teachers’ College who were staying with a woman who tested positive in mandatory quarantine at the institution following her return from Botswana early this month.
The woman, the first in Masvingo province to test positive, is currently recovering at her home in Rujeko suburb, where she is in a stable condition and isolating under strict monitoring from Masvingo City Council Health Department officials.
She was quarantined together with 240 other returnees when samples confirmed her positive status for Covid-19.
The collected samples were sent for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in Harare.
This prompted the Covid-19 provincial taskforce to collect specimens from all the returnees at Masvingo Teachers’ College, who stayed with her amid fears she might have infected others.
Tracking of all the woman’s contacts after her return from Botswana is currently underway so that they are also tested for Covid-19.
Spokesperson for the Covid-19 provincial taskforce Mr Rogers Irimai said results from the specimens were expected to come in batches.
“Besides tracking of all the woman’s contacts upon her return from Botswana we also tested all the 240 returnees who shared the same quarantine facility with her and the results will come in batches. We are calling for calm following the first positive case of Covid-19 reported in the province because the situation is under control. The province is continuing to improve its state of preparedness to deal with any major challenge that might arise.’’
Besides being in a stable condition, the patient was also asymptomatic, which raised hopes of quick recovery.
Mr Irimai also revealed that the taskforce had opened another quarantine facility at Bikita Training Centre after Masvingo Teachers’ College and Masvingo Polytechnic got filled up with returnees.
The training centre in Bikita had room for 40 people.
“The two quarantine centres that we opened first are now full as more returnees continue to be received while the third centre we opened in Bikita is now left with vacancies for seven people, meaning it will soon fill up again,’’ Mr Irimai observed.
Online Reporter