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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
Health officials in Beitbridge have put into isolation 66 Zimbabweans who tested positive for Covid-19 during screening soon after arriving from South Africa on Thursday.
The group is part of 220 Zimbabweans – among them seven ex-convicts – who were deported from the neighbouring country by road in a convoy of four buses.
The move to deport the migrants is part of South Africas’ plans to decongest migrants’ holding centres and minimize the rate of new Covid-19 infections.
Beitbridge’s District Medical Officer Dr Lenos Samhere said those who tested positive had been put into isolation.
“We have put them into isolation pending further management,” said Dr Samhere. “So far we have engaged the Department of Social Development to put the rest of the group (154 people) into quarantine facilities closer to their final destinations.
“You will note that the concentration of the group is too much, and hence we have to take due diligence to minimize the risk of new infections in the community.”
It is understood that most of those deported had violated immigration laws (undocumented, use of fake documents, and overstaying), while others had finished serving varied jail terms.
This is the largest contingent of deportees to arrive via Beitbridge since the beginning of the year. @tupeyo
Online Reporter