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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
Beitbridge Municipality has started disinfecting the country’s busiest border post as it intensifies efforts to minimise the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A total of 14 000 people use Beitbridge border post on any normal day but of late only an average of 600 mainly commercial cargo drivers are passing through the border daily.

More than 38 000 inclusive of departures and arrivals pass through Beitbridge daily during peak periods.

As part of the measures to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic among other measures, the Government closed the border post to non-essential human traffic.

Additionally, public gatherings have been banned and a total lockdown is underway.

The local authority’s head of Environmental Health Services, Mr Pio Muchena said other public places like market places, business centres and service vehicles garages including ambulances will all be disinfected.

He said they upped the fight against the pandemic after receiving nearly 1 000 litres of hydrogen peroxide donated by a Zimbabwean company, Fossil Agro. Mr Muchena said Verbena Logistics facilitated transportation of the chemicals from Harare to Beitbridge and donated US$150 used to buy personal protective clothing for two of their workers. When properly mixed, 16 litres of the solution can be used to disinfect 1 000 square metres.

“We are targeting public areas and we have started with the border post where there is a more pronounced human activity,” said Mr Muchena. “Thereafter we will go to public areas including, business centres, public toilets, vegetable markets, Government offices and public services buses, service vehicles and everywhere where there is high human activity.

“The chemicals we are spraying here has a residual effect of 24 hours and where there are too much human traffic we will be spraying daily while we will consider spraying after every two days in some areas”.

He said more resources were being mobilised from various players to strengthen the TOWN’S capacity to implement measures to curb the spread of the virus. About 500 vendors trade mostly at Dulivhadzimu, Siyaso 1 and 2, Mashakada, Ha Mbedzi, HaMangavha, O Jays, Shule- Shule, Mashavire and the CBD markets. These include fruits, groceries and flea market places. According to the deputy mayor, Councillor Munyaradzi Chitsunge, the municipality along with Harare, Gweru, Bulawayo and Mutare received the chemicals from Fossil Agro because of their vulnerability as risk areas for the pandemic. Beitbridge is yet to have any individual testing positive of the Covid-19 virus.