Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Health Reporter
TWO of Bulawayo’s Covid-19 designated centres have undergone necessary refurbishments and are ready to open.
The Government will also set up virtual hospitals to care for patients and relieve pressure on hospitals, if the need arises.
One of the centres set to open in Bulawayo, Ekusileni Medical Centre, has had a multiple false-starts but will, in the coming few weeks, open its doors to the members of the public.
The institution is expected to open with a 50-bed capacity and admit mild to severe Covid-19 patients.
Ekusileni was closed more than 15 years ago when its equipment was declared obsolete.
The hospital, a brainchild of the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo, has experienced a number of false starts and numerous efforts to reopen it have failed.
Its premises are owned by the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) and it was opened in 2000 before it closed in 2001.
The second institution set to officially open is the Bulawayo City Council-run Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital which has been undergoing renovations after it was designated as a Covid-19 centre.
In addition to the two health institutions set to open, Covid-19 patients are already accessing services at the privately run Mater Dei Hospital and the Old Bartley Memorial Block situated at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH).
In her post Cabinet briefing yesterday, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa said Government efforts in refurbishing and upgrading health facilities are beginning to yield the desired results.
“Government is pleased to announce that Ekusileni Medical Centre has been fully refurbished and will soon be officially opened.
Thorngrove Hospital was refurbished and upgraded to a 28-bed fully equipped Covid-19 isolation centre and is admitting Covid-19 patients,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
“The first-ever free orthopaedic paediatric hospital and Covid-19 Isolation Centre based at United Bulawayo Hospital is also set to be soon officially opened. The hospital will attend to children with various orthopaedic conditions, including those with congenital deformities from all over the country.”
She said Cabinet has also adopted a proposal to set up a Virtual Hospital for the Management of Covid-19 patients. This development comes from the realisation that most Covid-19 patients recover without symptoms in Zimbabwe.
Some of them recover after experiencing mild ones, which do not require hospitalisation. “Government will establish a provisional figure of 10 000 to 20 000 home based beds. A network of health staff will carry out protocol-based monitoring and management of the cases,” she said.
Minister Mutsvangwa said resources will be availed towards the purchase of rechargeable oxygen concentrators, finger pulse or saturation monitors, non-contact thermometers, blood glucose testing machines and blood pressure machines.
She said the equipment will be deployed to the admitted patients and returned when the patient is discharged.
“The establishment of the Virtual Hospital will therefore alleviate the pressure on hospitals. The public will be kept abreast of developments in this regard,” she added.
Minister Mutsvangwa also assured citizens that they can receive their vaccination jabs anywhere in the country.
She said this applies to the second vaccination dose as well, that is, people may be vaccinated at a location different from where they took their first jab if they so wish.
Cabinet also heard that the Global Fund has allocated US$75 million to complement Government efforts in the fight against Covid-19.
“The allocation is for three years, from 2021 to 2023. It should, however, be noted that Government continues to provide resources from its own coffers for the Covid-19 response programme, with Z$11 billion having been released since the onset of the outbreak,” she said.
Minister Mutsvangwa said law enforcement agents are intensifying efforts to curb the re-emergence of illegal transport operators.
“Seventeen thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven arrests were made countrywide during the week under review for flouting the various lockdown regulations, bringing the total arrested so far to 607 386,” she said.-@thamamoe
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