Editorial Comment: Midway stock-take  of national lockdown President Mnangagwa

WITH the 21-day national lockdown to fight Covid-19 now having just passed midway, events on the ground reflect a good measure of success, gaps and slip-ups.

While it could be early to be absolutely certain on the success of containment strategies, the most undoubted and powerful preventative measure by individuals to curb the spread of the pandemic, which has claimed thousands of lives and made sick hundreds of thousands others globally, has been to stay safe at home.

It took President Mnangagwa no time to address the nation after the first reported infection of coronavirus.
The President should be commended for responding swiftly and pre-emptively by imposing the 21-day lockdown and issuing a stay-at-home order.

A flurry of other measures that included the closure of our borders, imposition of air travel restrictions, banning of vending and travelling between cities and towns, closure of non-essential businesses and limiting funeral attendance to just 50 people, should go a long way in achieving the desired results of curtailing the spread of the deadly virus.

It is heartening that the private sector, churches and individuals have come on board as a united front with donations in cash and kind.

The St Anne’s Hospital project in Harare is one case in point deserving loud applause.
Catholic Sisters of the Little Company of Mary (LCM), who are the owners of the hospital and the trustees of Solidarity Trust Zimbabwe struck a deal to make the hospital, which all along was idle, a Covid-19 response centre.

The clear message they are sending is that coronavirus affects us all as it threatens our social, economic and psychological well-being.

Therefore, it is imperative that we work together to beat this common, but unseen enemy.
For Zimbabwe, so far so good, with the country earning praise from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for taking the necessary measure early. The spread here has been modest when compared to grim statistics being recorded in developed countries like Italy, Spain and the United States.

As of yesterday, the Ministry of Health and Child Care had recorded 11 confirmed cases and three deaths.
Globally, a staggering cumulative total of 1 536 216 confirmed cases of the pandemic had been recorded, with a death toll reaching over 89 000 persons.

The affliction has not spared other developed countries like Britain, whose Prime Minister was on Monday admitted to hospital and confined in the intensive care unit.

It remains a fact that our main source of confirmed cases of Covid-19 has been in-bound travellers from virus-hit countries.
However, it is encouraging that there have been tight restrictions and strong quarantine rules imposed on returning Zimbabweans, who are potential vectors of the virus.

This, no doubt, has the effect of severely curtailing the spread of the pandemic.
If authorities had reacted slowly, Harare could easily have become the epicentre of the pandemic in Zimbabwe by virtue of it being the country’s hub of industry, commerce and international travel.

But owing to the measures taken, the pandemic has not gone out of control as many feared.
The Government should draw lessons from other nations more severely hit by the virus to avoid a disaster. President Mnangagwa did the right thing by setting up a Cabinet Taskforce to deal with this national emergency.

A natural choice chairing this taskforce is his deputy Kembo Mohadi. This will go a long way in eliminating confusion and contradictory directives from the Government.

However, it is important that the country should not wait for confirmed cases and death numbers to spike to the levels we are witnessing in the United States, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom to mobilise personnel. We should start rallying retired health professionals to be on standby.

In Italy, it became an emergency when authorities fast-tracked the graduation of 10 000 student doctors, while Spain mobilised 14 000 retired doctors and nurses.

The US has relaxed entry visa requirements for doctors and nurses from around the world, while closer home in South Africa, the government is calling for more health care workers to come on board.

One area of concern is the fact that social distancing and personal hygiene are not being observed in densely populated places such as Mbare Musika.

It is business as usual with no enforcement of the Covid-19 health measures. We could be watching a health time bomb, which if left unattended could spell a real disaster for the country.

There is a good reason why social distancing has become an important strategy in curbing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Research has shown that each person infected with the Covid-19 virus is thought to pass it on to an average of two to three other people in the early stages of an outbreak.

Research of infections in Wuhan, China, shows evidence that maintaining a safe distance from others, can slow the spread and stop the domino effect of Covid-19.

Work in China has demonstrated that substantial levels of social distancing is indeed key to reducing the number of infections in Wuhan and the Hubei region.

We need to take the issue of social distancing seriously in our fight to stop the spread of coronavirus.
We therefore, urge responsible authorities to tighten the screws and never to let up until the battle against the disease is won.
We add our voice to calls for individuals and communities to stay safe at home.

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