By Kudakwashe Vhenge
The High Court of Zimbabwe has ordered government to conduct door to door tests for COVID 19 in order to identify possible carriers during the national “lockdown”.
To date Zimbabwe has 17 Covid-19 confirmed cases and three deaths.
A total of 604 samples have been tested at both Harare’s National Microbiology Reference Laboratory and Bulawayo’s National TB Reference Lab.
The ruling by the High Court follows a chamber application by the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) citing the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of transport as first, second and third respondent respectively.
In the ruling, the Ministry of Health and Child Care has been ordered to ensure that extensive screening and testing be carried out.
This will include mobile, door to door testing to account for asymptomatic carriers during the period of the 21 days lockdown or any extended period thereof.
Through financing from the second respondent, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, the Health Ministry has also been ordered to ensure that appropriately equipped, quarantine and isolation facilities are established in all Provincial and District hospitals.
To date Zimbabwe has only two isolation and treatment centers namely Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital in Harare as well as Thorngrove Infectious Disease Hospital in Bulawayo with the rest of the provinces only having temporary facilities which are poorly equipped.
Whilst Wilkins Hospital recently had a facelift after government and private corporates chipped in, Thorngrove Hospital is said to be in dire need of rehabilitation and modification in order to meet standards required of a COVID19 center a situation that has left health workers at the isolation facility at risk of contracting the dreaded disease.
In this regard, the High Court has compelled government to ensure that all frontline health practitioners be provided with adequate Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).
Authorized public transport ZUPCO responsible for carrying staff for essential services has also been ordered to disinfect upon arrival and departure of each destination.
Zimbabwe is now on day 16 of 21 days of Covid19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment Statutory instrument 83 of 2020 which was issued by president Mnangagwa with a possibility of an extension.
