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Paidamoyo Chipunza Senior Health Reporter
Government agencies and other stakeholders need to be more coordinated in their efforts to deal with possible cases of Covid-19, which is caused by coronavirus.

The call comes amid revelations that response efforts by Government departments manning the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport are disjointed.

A visit by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health to RGM International Airport yesterday showed that workers from the Department of Immigration were not putting on face masks while those from the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) were wearing wrong masks.

Most CAAZ officials were struggling to keep the face masks, while officials from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and the Port Health Department had the right protective masks.

However, a similar visit to Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital by the Parliamentarians earlier in the day showed that the hospital was highly-prepared to deal with any suspected or confirmed cases of  Covid-19.

Although the City Health Department is conducting temperature checks on all incoming travellers at the airport, the isolation process, which is done at a private clinic 200 metres away is a cause of concern.

The Portfolio Committee rated the airport’s preparedness at 60 percent against the fully prepared Wilkins Hospital.

“Wilkins is definitely prepared, but the airport is still porous.

“More still needs to be done. I would place their preparedness at 60 percent,” observed the portfolio committee chairperson Dr Ruth Labode.

She urged airlines to donate protective clothing, surveillance and monitoring equipment to enhance the airport’s level of preparedness.

Responding to the Parliamentarians’ concerns, Environmental Health Services manager in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Mrs Magareth Tawodzera said since the airport was under expansion, they were also looking forward to establishing an isolation unit within the airport, which she said was the best practice internationally.

Mrs Tawodzera said suspected patients were ferried by a fire ambulance to the isolation unit, where they wait to be transferred to Wilkins Hospital.

If there is a “patient” on a flight, Port Health is advised in advance.

Mrs Tawodzera said the travel manifesto presented by the airline also informs them beforehand on where each and every passenger would be travelling from.

Asked to comment on why Immigration workers didn’t have protective clothing, Head of Immigration at the RGM International Airport Mr Evans Siziba said they had run out of supplies.

He added that all the masks were imported, which made it difficult for them to get supplies owing to foreign currency shortages.