TAURAI MANGUDHLA
HARARE – Government has shut down five schools in Budiriro and Glen View as it moves to contain the cholera outbreak that has so far claimed 20 lives, Health and Child Care minister Obadiah Moyo has said.
Reported cases have exceeded 2000, Moyo said this morning during a tour of the Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospital (BRIDH).
In the area two deaths have been reported at Glenview Number 5 Primary school, Minister Moyo said.
“We shall try and make sure we understand the problem and to come up with solutions,” he said.
More admissions were being made at the cholera screening desk at BRIDH including children who could be seen receiving treatment.
Schools have been temporarily closed while water supplies and sewer systems in the area are being improved, Minister Moyo said.
Some students are sitting for their national exams – ZIMSEC O and A levels as well as Grade Seven exams – hence the need to speed up processes to ensure the schools reopen.
The cluster of affected schools – three primary and two secondary – are built in a back to back set up.
Minister Moyo said the Cholera outbreak is so far a Harare problem only, especially in the Glenview and Budiriro areas. Isolated cases had been reported in Buhera and Masvingo from patients who were exposed to the virus in Harare.
He said the outbreak is believed to be a result of burst and blocked sewer pipes in the area that had been neglected for more than two months.
Currently, teams are on the ground opening sewer pipes and supplying clean fresh water with the help of the donor community and partners, in particular Delta Corporation, World Health Organisation, the United Nations and MSF.
Minister Moyo said the country had enough resources to combat Cholera and is getting assistance from its partners.
Boreholes and wells have been shut down in the Budiriro-Glenview area while vendors who sell meat on the streets have also been cleared.
The Ministry of Health has approached the police to ensure vending is controlled even at night in the affected areas.
He urged the public to wash their hands and ensure they drink from safe water sources.
