Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
A local Non-Governmental Organisation has embarked on rural communities Covid-19 sensitisation programme in Matobo District, Matabeleland South, to discourage villagers from harbouring quarantine facility escapees and border jumpers in their homes.
Matobo Youth Development Initiative (MYDI) has taken an initiative to educate villagers in the district about dangers posed by returnees bypassing or escaping quarantine facilities.
Matobo District has a high population of people working in the neighbouring South Africa and Botswana.
Some of the country’s citizens have started returning home as the Covid-19 pandemic has affected livelihoods in the neighbouring countries.
Returnees are subjected to a 21-day quarantine period to prevent the transmission of imported Covid-19 cases to local communities.
But some rogue returnees are escaping official entry points while others escape from quarantine facilities exposing the local communities to Covid-19.
More than 260 returnees have escaped from quarantine facilities countrywide.
This has seenexposed two returnees from Beitbridge who absconded from a quarantine facility infect eight of their relatives.
The civic society organisation says Matobo district could be a Covid-19 pandemic if communities are not educated against hiding their relatives returning from neighbouring countries without following due procedures.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the organisation embarked on a community awareness programme on the risk posed by Covid-19 to their communities.
MYDI information and administration officer Ms Stacy Nyathi said due to the composition of the district, there could be an influx of people returning from neighbouring countries without following due procedures.
“From time immemorial, people from the district have been migrating to the neighbouring South Africa and Botswana without documentation. This makes the district a Covid-19 high risk area due to the prevalence of illegal immigrants and cross border transporters who use illegal entry points. Hence, we embarked on a community sensitisation programme to discourage communities from allowing people without a clearance to be freely admitted into the society,” said Ms Nyathi.
She said they are working with traditional leaders and councillors in the Covid-19 awareness programme.
Ms Nyathi said following guidelines imposed by health officials is meant to protect communities from being infected by Covid-19. “We conducted the campaign in Bidi and Malaba areas. It’s clear that more needs to be done to educate the public against hiding their returning relatives. Some people do not know about the serious threat posed by Covid-19. While we conducted awareness campaigns, communities seem not to have clear knowledge that even their beloved ones could bring Covid-19 to their homes. Being in rural areas Rapid Response Teams may not be notified at the right time about such escapees and that person can spread the virus to our fragile communities and even lead to the collapse of the health sector,” said Ms Nyathi.
Matobo Ward 8 councillor Cde Promise Ndebele said there is a real threat of returnees going home without passing through quarantine centres.
Cde Ndebele said communities still need more authentic information on Covid-19 as they largely rely on messages circulated on social media platforms such as WhatsApp.
She said as community leaders they demand that those who claim to have passed through quarantine centres should bring clearance letters.
“We have a real threat of people who could escape from quarantine facilities. But to ensure that people do not lie to us we insist that those returnees should present clearance letters. We are working with traditional leadership structures to ensure that no one sneaks into our communities without being cleared for Covid-19 or passing through holding facilities,” said Cde Ndebele.-@nqotshili
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