Uncategorized

Zim’s 129 recent Chinese immigrants not infected by Coronavirus

Staff Writer

THE Ministry of Health and Childcare reports that the 139 immigrants who arrived in Zimbabwe from China and other destinations for most of the week did not show any sign of the deadly Coronavirus disease which has caught the world by surprise.

According to a situation report released by MOHCC, Zimbabwe received 47 immigrants Saturday, 10 on Sunday, 36 on Monday and another 36 on Tuesday giving a total of 129.

“As of 28th January 2020, 129 travelers arriving in Zimbabwe from countries with confirmed 2019-nCOV transmission have been documented. None of these travelers had symptoms suggestive of 2019-nCOV infection on arrival,” the report said.

MOHCC is also documenting and seriously tracking down influenza reports as part of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response weekly reporting for Zimbabwe.

“In epidemiologic week 3, a total of 1 918 suspected influenza cases and no deaths were reported. The cumulative figures for influenza since the beginning of the year is 6 855 cases and no deaths,” the report said.

The National Microbiology Reference Laboratory has been provided with World Health Organisation issued an interim guidance on the laboratory testing for 2019-nCoV for the laboratories for laboratory diagnosis of patients who meet the definition of a suspect case of pneumonia associated with 2019-nCoV.

Zimbabwe is expected to refer specimens from all suspect cases to regional reference laboratory.

In order to effectively mitigate the disease, the isolation hospitals have been designated at Wilkins Hospital and Thorngrove hospitals in Harare and Bulawayo respectively.

The assessment of readiness to implement WHO guidance on case management while all provinces have designated Rapid Response Teams who have been trained in IDSR and contact tracing.

The World Health Organization has refrained from calling the outbreak a global emergency, but it is a national emergency in China, with multiple cities shutting down public transportation including railway and airport stations in efforts to curb the spread of the virus which has now infected over 4,000 individuals across the country, and killed 106 people, according to the latest report by China’s National Health Commission.

//ENDS//

 

 

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button