TINASHE MAKICHI
The Ministry of Health and Child Care has directed all provincial medical directors to set up Rapid Response Teams at the ports of entry to collect samples and the government implements new Covid-19 regulations.
The move comes after the government directed that all visitors to Zimbabwe and returning residents have to undergo PCR testing at ports of entry whether or not they already have a negative PCR certificate as it moves to stem the spread of the Omicron variant.
In a letter dated December 13, Health and Child Care permanent secretary Jasper Chimedza (pictured) said the Ministry needs to implement the Covid-19 PCR testing of all travellers at all ports of entry following the gazetting of Statutory Instrument 267 of 2021.
“It is against this background that all provinces are supposed to set up Rapid Response Teams at the Ports of Entry to collect samples and transport them to the nearest government laboratories,” Health and Child Care permanent secretary Jasper Chimedza said in a letter to all provincial medical directors.
Chimedza said all travellers will not be held at the ports of entry to wait for results but will provide details for onward transmission.
All travellers will proceed to designated quarantine centres after sample collection, he said.
Chimedza said all travellers with results from laboratories that do not appear on the African Union COLTEP platforms would be held at the airport for isolation purposes.
Zimbabwe has recorded a spike in new infections with 28,904 cases recorded last week alone up from 5,055 cases in the previous week with the last genomic sequencing linking all the cases to the Omicron variant.
The new variant which was detected by South African scientists has resulted in travel curbs with the UK and some EU countries banning travellers from Southern African nations.
The UK removed the travel curb on 11 countries, including Zimbabwe.
As at December 13, 2021, Zimbabwe’s cumulative Covid-19 cases stood at 167 140 with 129 776 recoveries and 4 738 deaths.
The recovery rate was 78% with 32 626 active cases having been recorded.
The number of new cases increased during the week under review, with 28 904 cases recorded compared to 5 055 cases the previous week.
An average of 4 014 new cases were reported per day compared to 723 cases the previous week.
However, the case fatality rate has gone down to 2.9% during the week under review from 3.4% the previous week.
“Prevention measures being implemented such as vaccinations continue to contribute to the reduction in the severe impact of the virus,” Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services minister Monica Mutsvangwa said.
