Chronicle Editor
The coronavirus or Covid-19 is the new global threat to human life and countries’ economies given the rate at which it is spreading and its high mortality rate.
The World Health Organisation said last Saturday that the global number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 had surpassed 100 000 and the virus has killed more than 3 700 people worldwide.
Covid-19 was detected in China towards the end of last year and has spread to more than 70 countries with the neighbouring South Africa among African countries that have confirmed cases of coronavirus. The other affected African countries are Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Senegal.
Cases of Covid-19 have also been confirmed in US, Italy, Australia, South Korea and the United Kingdom. On Monday Sadc Ministers of Health met in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to come up with a position on the state of preparedness and to also agree on strategies to counter Covid-19.
The region wants a coordinated response to the outbreak of the virus which has already affected some of the countries in the region. A lot of work has been done by individual countries to contain the spread of the virus and the measures include testing suspected cases, quarantining individuals suspected to be having the virus until tests prove they are negative for Covid-19.
Zimbabwe has heightened its surveillance system at district, provincial and national level as it works to ensure the virus does not spread to the country.
The country’s ports of entry that include border posts and airports have adequate screening facilities to ensure all visitors are screened for the virus.
Minimising risk to exposure to the virus should however be every citizen’s responsibility. We therefore want to urge Zimbabweans to take seriously the issue of maintaining good personal hygiene that involves washing hands with soap and water.
Government has also appealed to citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to SA which has confirmed cases of Covid-19. Early this month President Mnangagwa restricted international travel especially outside Africa and also banned foreign trips for civil servants as part of efforts to minimise risk to exposure to coronavirus.
The Government’s move might be viewed as too harsh given that many Zimbabweans work in SA but what should be appreciated is that both the Zimbabwean and SA governments have an obligation to contain the spread of this deadly virus.
This is only possible if citizens from the two countries minimise the risk to exposure to the virus. The encouraging news is that the reported cases of Covid-19 are steadily declining in China and the Chinese government has since ordered the closing down of makeshift hospitals in Wuhan City, the epicentre of Covid-19.
This development should however not mislead us into relaxing measures being taken to contain or prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Online Reporter