Mpilo Hospital bans visitors

MPILO Central Hospital in Bulawayo has imposed an indefinite ban on patients’ visits after recording four COVID-19 cases in a single day early this week.

Authorities at the hospital had all along imposed restrictions on the number of people visiting patients, but after four COVID-19 cases were recorded on Wednesday, a total ban has now been put in place.

Hospital authorities said the indefinite ban was necessary in stemming the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Four people, including a nurse at the hospital and a patient who went to the health institution for treatment on Wednesday, tested positive for COVID-19.

The nurse in question has been sent home to self-isolate, while the other three are admitted to the hospital.

“We have issued a notice that visitors should, with immediate effect, stop visiting their loved one since there is an outbreak of the virus here. We are just taking precautionary measures as we try to make sure everyone is safe from the virus,” Mpilo Hospital spokesperson Ozias Ndlovu said.

“We are not really sure when this ban will last because we need to assess the situation so that we don’t expose everyone to danger.”

The country has, in recent days, recorded a jump in COVID-19 cases, mainly from returning Zimbabweans at quarantine centres.

Reports, however, show that tens of returnees are fleeing quarantine centres without mandatory screening, exposing their relatives and others to infection if they are positive.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has imposed an indefinite extended lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19, but statistics are showing an increase while testing remains limited.

Currently, the country has 149 confirmed cases.