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Auxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council said it has put in place measures to swiftly respond to reports of suspected Ebola cases as the city hosts the African Union Youth Sports Council Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games which start today.The council said this follows a request by the Ministry of Health and Child Care for council health officials to be on the alert and quickly identify suspected cases.
Director of epidemiology in the ministry, Portia Manangazira however said the measure was just precautionary as participants at the Games were from Ebola free countries. “We resolved that the Bulawayo city’s health department would be the team on the ground during the Games. The team underwent an extensive training on Ebola. We’re not taking any chances,” said Manangazira.
She said the health officials would be at the airport checking on the visitors’ travel records and would be disseminating information to the command centre.
Ten countries — Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and the host nation Zimbabwe will compete in eight disciplines which are athletics, basketball, boxing, football, judo, netball, swimming and tennis.
A number of teams have arrived in the country ahead of the Games while some are expected today.
Meanwhile, Bulawayo City councillors resolved to increase the frequency of refuse collection in the city during the course of the Games.
The Games end on December 14.
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