Binga RDC sends staff home over Covid tests

Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
BINGA Rural District Council (BRDC) has been forced to send most of its workers home after five staff members tested positive to Covid-19.

The Government’s announcement of new lockdown measures compelling public offices to decongest staff by 50 percent came when Binga RDC had already scaled down operations as a result of an increase in new cases in the district.

Binga RDC chief executive Mr Joshua Muzamba confirmed the cases before referring questions to health authorities.

The Matabeleland North Provincial Medical Director Dr Munekai Padingani could however not be reached on his mobile.

“We had one of the administration officers who tested positive through contact testing and then we decided that all staff be tested as per requirement. Two workers tested positive and then we extended testing to casual workers from outside and two more tested positive. It has not escalated beyond that as health officials have managed to contain the spread,” said Mr Muzamba.

Binga RDC has 143 staff workers, 100 of them being casuals. The local authority was a few days ago forced to close offices as fumigation was being carried out.

Mr Muzamba said: “We didn’t close offices but we scaled down operations and reduced staff in the offices. The recent pronouncement assisted us and we are adhering as we have scaled down staff.”

As at 14 June 2021, Zimbabwe had 40 077 confirmed cases, including 37 027 recoveries and 1 635 deaths.

Matabeleland North has 1 500 cumulative cases and 20 deaths. A total of 340 PCR tests were done on Monday and there are 49 active cases.

Binga is a tourism destination with a number of hospitality facilities.

Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu on Monday reminded all players in the industry to strictly adhere to Government, World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Covid-19 health protocols.

He urged those that are yet to be vaccinated to do so to prevent the spread of the pandemic. -@ncubeleon