Zimpapers Logo

…292 test positive, 25 succumb to the virus

…Council introduces team of morticians.

Conrad Mupesa Mashonaland West Bureau

AT least 292 people from Kadoma have tested positive for Covid-19 since the announcement of the level four lockdown amid revelations that funeral wakes are contributing to the spiking of cases.

Twenty-five have also succumbed to the virus in the past one month.

Kadoma City’s director of health, Dr Daniel Chirundu said the council is working Ministry of Health and Child Care to curb multiplication of the cases.

Common practices at funerals and burial processions have been cited as defeating the efforts to arrest spiralling cases.

“The virus has claimed 25 lives and among them two on Tuesday night. We want to urge people to stick to Government’s directive of maintaining social distance, face masking and sanitising.

“The President (Mnangangwa) directed that only 30 people are allowed at funerals but we have discovered that most of our transmission is occurring at funerals because through our culture, we are supposed to hug each other or shake hands to console the bereaved.

We have also people without funeral policies risking their lives by dressing their deceased relatives,” he said.

Dr Chirundu said as a countermeasure to the common funeral practices, the council introduced morticians to help dress the deceased free of charge for indigent communities.

“The morticians will also be doing disinfections at the funerals to help thwart the virus from spreading.”