The Sunday Mail
FIELD commanders are as strong as their weakest troops. When news of the first case of coronavirus was reported in Zimbabwe, some panicked workers hastily applied for the maximum possible number of leave days they could get. Others literally withdrew or threatened to withdraw their services. It was quite understandable considering the wreckage and bloodbath the the virus has left in its wake.
The bloodbath still continues.
Spain, which has the second-most fatalities in the world after Italy, announced on Friday that 932 of its citizens had succumbed to the virus in a 24-hour period, taking the death toll to more than 11 000.
The United States — famed to its world-class healthcare system — also announced the highest daily death toll of any country so far at nearly 1 200. More than 6 000 Americans have lost their lives to the disease.
Italy’s death toll stood at 13 155 by Friday.
Overall, more than 55 000 had died by the end of last week. It was, therefore, unsurprising that some local healthcare workers were unnerved. But there are doctors, nurses and paramedics who volunteered to be conscripted in the ongoing war.
Among them is nurse Cynthia Shatei, leader of the Zimbabwe Young Nurses’ Association. Most of its members were previously unemployed. She and other young and unemployed members of her organisation have since last year timeously bailed out the health sector each time permanent employees threaten to down tools — and for free.
“We value the sanctity of human life, but at times we fear for our dear life because the monster (Covid-19) is real. We believe that nursing is a calling so we had to step in as nurses and God would do the rest,” she said in an interview. “It is all about patriotism. We are willing to work hand-in-glove with Government institutions and all organisations who are involved in a worthy cause like fighting the virus.”
She explains why they felt compelled to step in. “Currently, we are volunteering because other nurses went on strike and we felt that it is not the right time to abandon people when the coronavirus is wreaking havoc, so we had to intervene,” said Shatei, who is currently stationed at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital (former Harare Central Hospital) “We are given protective clothes when screening people for coronavirus and any suspected cases are quickly transferred to Wilkins Infections Diseases Control Centre for further tests,” she added. The nurses said although fears by health workers are well-founded, the disease had to be tackled head-on for the common good.
But does she self-isolate or self-quarantines at home? “We do not throw caution to the wind, we make sure we are safe before we get home,” she said.
But she reckons there is need for Government to provide resources so that more hands are added to the sector to help in communities, especially in rural areas, where most people might be vulnerable to communicable diseases. Shatei is one of the many healthcare workers who are putting their life at risk by offering their services in helping fight coronavirus in Zimbabwe. “Health workers on the frontline need all the support to do their jobs, be safe and stay alive. Their work becomes valuable particularly when pandemics strike,” she said.
Work stress
And like soldiers, health workers worldwide, she said, also face considerable mental stress.
It is often forgotten that as humans, they feel the pain of loss when their patients succumb to the virus. They, too, have families, and so will also naturally be fearful that the virus might reach those they love most. During the Ebola outbreak six years ago, the World Health Organisation estimated that health workers were between 21 and 32 times more likely to be infected with Ebola than people in the general adult population. In West Africa, more than 350 healthcare workers died while battling Ebola. In times of chaos, society often forgets those who are on the frontlines, the unsung heroes that are willing to lay down their lives to make sure that we, together with our beloved families, live to see another day.
