Covid-19 still a killer disease, beware

THERE seems to be laxity among citizens when it comes to following Covid-19 health precautions. Ever since the country moved from the highest level of lockdown to level two, with a number of restrictions being relaxed by the Government, it would appear people also decided to let their guard down, hence the continued spread of the disease.

Despite the recovery rate being impressive at 94 percent (as at Tuesday last week), when the country had 264 active Covid-19 cases, Bulawayo had the bulk of the cases, 123. A total of 52 people had by last Tuesday succumbed to the global pandemic in the city and 18 of the deaths were recorded in the last two weeks.

The director of health services at the Bulawayo City Council, Dr Edwin Sibanda, said there was general relaxation when it comes to following health guidelines.

“The apparent upsurge in the numbers of Bulawayo Covid-19 cases is twofold and is a result of rapid response teams following up contacts of positive cases and testing them according to protocol. There has been a relaxation in terms of observing prevention measures, gatherings have started such as parties’ and funeral wakes among others and this is likely to lead to many new cases,” said Dr Sibanda.

Acting Mpilo Central Hospital chief executive officer Professor Solwayo Ngwenya added that the three deaths recorded in Zimbabwe last Monday were from the health institution. He said some of the people were dying while awaiting results which shows that Covid-19 has spread in the community.

“We are seeing people being brought in dead while some die in hospital awaiting tests and this is quite a worrying trend. My biggest fear is many people could be infected in the community and unaware and this is an indication that Covid-19 is spreading at home yet people are so relaxed,” said Prof Ngwenya.

According to Prof Ngwenya Covid-19 has a potential to wipe thousands just like the Spanish Flu of 1918 which killed many when people thought it had been eradicated.

“If you look at current statistics or even in the past week or two, we seemed not to have any Covid-19 in the city, and this is what usually happens with a virus. It spreads when people are relaxed and then suddenly affects a large number of people. In fact, Bulawayo has had this sudden rise and soon it will be an epicentre of the virus if we are not careful. This is not surprising because the new cases and deaths are slowly going up.”

Of concern is that people are no longer following the laid down health guidelines with bars and nightclubs being the major culprits. Bulawayo has seen a number of “gigs” that have brought the city to a standstill in recent weeks where patrons were drinking the night away in packed nightclubs. Although police have made a number of arrests in some nightspots, what is worrying is that residents seem to have thrown caution to the wind.

It has to be emphasised that any decision to hold an event during the Covid-19 pandemic, no matter how large or small, should rely on a risk-based approach. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has provided guidance on how such a risk-based approach can be taken. Precautions to consider include actions to prevent transmission between people, and where to hold the venue and how it can be modified to make a safer environment. Cancelling a planned event is an option that should always be considered, especially in case of non-essential events or when precautions cannot be implemented or adequately communicated.

Moreover, there is no Covid-19 vaccine that has been approved by the WHO and it is believed that the pandemic will be with us for some time until a vaccine is found. The WHO says there are more than 100 Covid-19 vaccine candidates under development, with a number of these in the human trial phase.

WHO is also working in collaboration with scientists, business, and global health organisations through the Act Accelerator to speed up the pandemic response.