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THE resurgence of Covid-19 cases in Bulawayo is a cause for concern. This week we had reports that cases were increasing in Bulawayo with even an isolation centre readying itself for use by the affected that would need isolation while they recover from the infection. Fifty one people have lost their lives in the city with 1 599 cumulative cases of which 130 are active, while 18 of those were reported on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe has done very well in the fight against Covid-19 since the first case was reported on March 20. Following the introduction of lockdown measures we have seen active cases drop gradually from more than a thousand to just around 200 now. This is quite commendable but it is also important to note that it took a lot of time and effort to achieve that. Zimbabweans adhered to lockdown measures, wore masks and physically distanced in order to slow down the spread of Covid-19. Europe is having to introduce tougher measures after complacency when rules were relaxed.
In our case also it would seem that somewhere along the line we lost the zeal and became complacent hence the rise in figures. Not only that, on Wednesday health authorities reported three deaths from Covid-19, all of them from Bulawayo province.
This is very worrying and we should stop the casual approach to the adherence to Covid-19 control measures or we perish. What is also worth noting is that the deaths could be a reflection of what we did prior to the onset of the disease.
People are holding parties, moving around in public without masks and gathering for drinks where they are not supposed to. We believe our communities now have slightly more information than when the infection broke out in March and that information about the virus should be empowering us instead of making us complacent.
With public transport now largely operational between urban areas, the strict adherence to Covid-19 regulations should be seen around the country as recklessness in one corner of the country could have dire consequences on even the remotest part of the country since it is us the people that move the virus around.
Our plea is that we should not look to the police to enforce the rules but we should follow the guidelines if we value our lives.
On the day we lost three lives earlier this week 28 new cases were reported. While the 94 percent recovery rate is quite encouraging being reckless could overwhelm our health system and reverse the gains that we made from March that saw us record 8 215 cases to date with 7 725 recoveries. Let us preserve our safe destination status which is quite valuable at this time when many countries are struggling under the weight of Covid-19 infections.
At the last count, 236 Zimbabweans had been lost to Covid-19 and it is our responsibility to ensure that we do not lose anymore lives, especially when basic measures can be employed to reduce transmission of the virus.
Online Reporter