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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Manicaland Bureau

Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital has established a four-bed isolation centre where patients who present to the institution with Covid-19 symptoms are tested and treated.

The Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) unit has been equipped with a ventilator and other equipment needed to ensure all suspected cases receive the necessary care.

Medical superintendent Dr Masanga Mutede said the institution had implemented strict measures so that when a Covid-19 positive case is identified, there would be no chances of spreading the disease.

“We have put in place strict measures at our hospital to ensure that everyone is safe,” she said.

“We have closed off all other entrances and left one where everyone who comes through is being screened.

“If we find that they have symptoms of the disease, we have turned our VMMC unit into an isolation centre where we take them for testing and treatment.”

Dr Mutede said staff training on how they can look after themselves and the patients was underway, adding that a Covid-19 taskforce had been established for the hospital to identify gaps and addressing them.

The Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital has so far attended to three suspected cases, with all of them testing negative.

“We have been fortunate in Manicaland because we have not recorded a positive case of Covid-19,” said Dr Mutede. “One of the patients we tested is recovering well from malaria.”

One of the people tested for Covid-19 was a case where the person suspected they had contracted the disease even when their symptoms were not severe.

On Tuesday, the hospital received various equipment and supplies from Knowstics Academy to assist in the fight against the deadly disease.

The Mutasa-based school donated personal protective equipment, hand sanitisers, spray sanitisers, soap, tissue paper and other materials.

Everything donated to the hospital was manufactured by students and staff at the school apart from gloves.

Knowstics Academy director Mr William Mukuwapasi said: “We hope that these products which our students have been making will go a long way to assist in the fight we are facing. Together we can win this war.”

Manicaland Provincial Affairs Minister Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba said the donation came at an opportune time.

“Although Manicaland has not had a positive case of Covid-19, we should remain alert and follow all the preventative measures suggested by authorities,” she said.

Dr Gwaradzimba said the level of compliance with the lockdown was high and encouraged people to continue being cautious.

She commended medical staffers for their commitment to fight the disease from the frontline.