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Herald Reporter

Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital in Harare is now in a better position to handle Covid-19 cases and is ready to open as a fully-functional hospital this week.

Besides major renovations by Chinese companies through their embassy, the hospital has been given ventilators, a back-up solar system, industrial backpack tanks for disinfecting surfaces, towels and bed linen.

Harare’s City Health Director, Dr Prosper Chonzi, said extra training of staff who will be managing patients requiring intensive care has started, with Wilkins now having an eight-bed intensive care unit.

“Training for anaesthetists, who will be managing patients in intensive care, has already began. They are being trained to put on and work in protective clothing so that they can look after the patients in the intensive care unit,” said Dr Chonzi.

The anaesthetists have also come through their association to partner Wilkins Hospital in offering intensive care to patients.

The mild and moderate cases will be managed by the city’s own clinicians. Dr Chonzi said an additional 500 volunteer health workers will receive training.

Harare City Council is now equipping Beatrice Road Infectious Disease Hospital to also manage Covid-19 patients.

“We will be having units in Borrowdale, Milton Park, St Anne’s Hospital and Rock Foundation. So, we now have a number of facilities, which can assist us to manage our critical patients,” said Dr Chonzi.

A majority of Covid-19 patients do not need intensive or specialised care, but 15 percent do, with the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions being heavily represented in this group.

Even in highly-developed countries with high rates of infection, many are isolated at home, but are evacuated to hospital if they get worse.

Dr Chonzi said of the patients who get infected with Covid-19, about 85 percent will recover on their own with little medication, 15 percent would need oxygen given via a face mask or nebulisation while a few of these would need support from a ventilator.

Wilkins was now working on how to assist pregnant women infected with Covid-19.

“We must assist such patients, but we also need to protect the health workers so we are still working on the process,” he said.

Speaking after receiving a donation of linen and towels from the Rainbow Tourism Group, Wilkins Hospital medical superintendent, Dr Hilda Bara said: “We might be getting more patients as the outbreak continues to unfold and obviously with our own resources we will not be able to cater for all the patients that we are likely to get.

“So the more linen we get for our patients, the more confident we are in making sure that our patients are well taken care of.”