adminDaniel Chigunwe Mashonaland Central Correspondent
There is need to expedite the setting up of an intensive care unit at Mvurwi Hospital for the institution to be effective as the Mashonaland Central provincial isolation centre for Covid-19 patients needing hospital care, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe has said.
He urged the province to avoid complacency in dealing with the pandemic, saying there was need to capacitate all isolation centres to improve the state of preparedness.
“I am urging the hospital to quickly attend to the intensive care unit so that it can be used for critical cases,” said Minister Kazembe. “The current status is not safe for the province in the event that we have a critical case anytime.”
Construction work is currently underway at the hospital, while preparatory activities are at an advanced stage. The hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Samuel Takawira said there was urgent need to equip the intensive care unit.
“We are pleased by the ongoing construction work,” he said. “However, we are in need of items like ventilators, oxygen and additional funds to fully capacitate the hospital.
“Since we have closed the hospital, we have created a makeshift facility at the council hall to attend to health needs of people who are served by this hospital. We are appealing for funds for the completion of Rusununguko Clinic, which is now 75 percent complete.”
The province’s Chawarura quarantine centre has since been capacitated to conduct laboratory tests as a cost-cutting measure.
Minister Kazembe said the Government was aware of lockdown-related challenges affecting businesses.
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