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Conrad Mupesa Mashonaland West Correspondent

THE country must utilise existing health infrastructure as isolation and treatment centres before constructing new ones, as it fights the Covid-19 pandemic, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Senator Monica Mutsvangwa has said.

Speaking in Chinhoyi during a meeting aimed at checking the response and identifying gaps for corrective action in fighting Covid-19, Minister Mutsvangwa, who is also a committee member of the National Task Force on Covid-19 for Mashonaland West, told provincial leaders and Members of Parliament that there was need to prioritise revamping health infrastructure as a preparedness measure.

To date, at least one quarantine unit and 33 centres in each district across the province have been earmarked as isolation centres for Covid-19 and are currently waiting for equipment.

“We are currently concerned with coming up with centres that will help us prepare against the disease, hence the need to revamp already existing health infrastructures,” she said.

“Utilisation of facilities that we already have is the first step before we can start talking about constructing new facilities.”

Minister Mutsvangwa said Government was prepared to rally all stakeholders towards resource mobilisation to help in the setting up of the isolation and treatment centres.

“We only need to make assessments on what has to be done at these centres in terms of refurbishments to prepare them for the pandemic,” she said. “The recent meeting we held with doctors and engineers also revealed that health centres like Parirenyatwa Hospital have the capacity to provide isolation, testing and treatment facilities, hence the need to assure our people that if we are to be hard hit by the pandemic, they will be provided with such centres.”

Minister Mutsvangwa’s remarks came after a report given by the provincial infrastructure and development sub-committee, which highlighted plans by the department of public works to start constructing a provincial isolation centre.

Construction of new isolation and treatment centres, she said, were going to prepare the nation for future pandemics.

Responding to Members of Parliament who unanimously highlighted the need to disseminate Covid-19 awareness messages to low lying areas in their constituencies, Minister Mutsvangwa said there was also need for legislators in conjunction with councillors and village heads to individually carry the messages to the grassroots to complement Government’s efforts.

She underscored the need for legislators to emulate Mhangura constituency representative, Precious Chinhamo-Masango, who generated bulk message platform to disseminate Covid-19 messages to thousands of people in her constituency using money from her own coffers.

“We are aware of the areas that do not receive radio and television signals,” said Minister Mutsvangwa. “Let me hasten to say efforts are being made to produce awareness materials in all the 16 official languages.”

The material is expected to bridge the information void created as a result of travelling challenges faced by members of the civil protection unity.

Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mary Milswa-Chikoka challenged farmers to help Government in the fight against the corona virus pandemic.