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Herald Reporter
Village health workers now help detect Covid-19 and help people respond, as well as performing their regular roles of engaging communities on how they can prevent infection and protect themselves.

The cumulative total of Covid-19 infections in Zimbabwe topped 6 000 yesterday when 140 new confirmed cases took the total to 6 070, but with the death toll remaining at 155 while the number of recoveries rose to 4 950, although more provinces are still to tally the latest recoveries. The number of active cases has now dropped below 1 000 with just 965 people recorded as ill. Harare still leads with 2 445 cumulative cases, 83 deaths but 1 962 recoveries.

Speaking at State House yesterday after the latest meeting of the Ad hoc Inter Ministerial Taskforce on Covid-19, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said the Government had also enhanced community awareness programmes.

“As our figures of local transmission remain worrisome and continue to rise, the National Taskforce informs that infection, prevention and control, capacity building nationwide continues. Additionally, community awareness programmes are gathering momentum. The training of trainers is underway in all eight rural and two metropolitan provinces,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

“Training of village and community health workers is also underway in all districts. Village health workers are vital to the country’s health delivery system as they interface with communities on a day to day basis.

“In the current Covid-19 context, their role has expanded beyond engaging communities in prevention and protective measures, to include detection and responses in containing the pandemic. To this end, their current training links them with local health facility staff and rapid response teams.”

Minister Mutsvangwa said the National Taskforce had yesterday noted the changes in the World Health Organisation’s protocols on Covid-19, which included the revision of the definitions of suspected and probable cases to take into account the increased knowledge on the clinical spectrum of Covid-19 signs and symptoms and updated approaches to surveillance.

Consequently, statistics had changed, resulting in the number of recoveries rising.

The new protocols have also seen the quarantine period reduced to 14 days from 21.

“As you are aware that Covid-19 is a novel virus and each day we are learning new information about it and how to combat it,” she said.

Minister Mutsvangwa said the National Taskforce had noted with concern that although Government was making efforts to capacitate public transporter Zupco, to provide service to urban commuters, there was a lot of unnecessary travel.

“Citizens are therefore encouraged to only travel when absolutely necessary and those who do not have to travel during peak hours are also encouraged to avoid travelling during these high congestion times,” she said

She implored citizens to remain resilient as the national lockdown measures were meant to save lives.

“Experts have informed us that those who will win this war are those who adapt to the new normal which entails adopting the protective and preventative measures that curb the spread and transmission of Covid-19. This is a new normal and let us all accept it and adapt our lifestyles to it,” she said.

Minister Mutsvangwa said Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri had been elevated from deputy chairperson to be the new chairperson of the National Taskforce and would be deputised by Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister, Professor Amon Murwira.