We can fight coronavirus

08 Mar, 2020 - 00:03 0 Views
We can fight  coronavirus

The Sunday Mail

The Novel Coronavirus is no longer a mirage or a far-fetched disease happening elsewhere. It has now become a reality at our doorstep following the two people who tested positive in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces a few days ago.

This is a real cause for concern given the huge traffic volumes of people that travel between Zimbabwe and South Africa on a daily basis.

We take some comfort from the fact that the Beitbridge Border Post has consolidated its testing and screening strategies while quarantine facilities have also been installed.

For weeks it has been a disease that we have just been hearing or reading about in trepidation, but the fact that two cases so far have been recorded within our proximity should nudge us into action as individuals and as a nation.

How we will react to this disease will determine its spread or containment in this part of the globe.

Yesterday, South Africa’s Minister of Health, Dr Zwelini Mkhize, reassured his nationals and the rest of the world that everything was under control.

We pray so.

The epidemic has now spread across 75 countries, which is very alarming. Therefore, now is the time to practise serious hygiene etiquette and to stand united in this fight as a country and as a family of nations.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and other researchers have gone all out to alert us to the fact that the disease is quite contagious resulting in the need to be sensitive and alive to developments on this front.

Any slip-up will be costly to us all.

As we commiserate with those infected and afflicted by the disease, we need to step up and remind ourselves that the potential of it spreading further is real.

We, therefore, need to ensure that we are prepared adequately as families and as a nation.

Awareness campaigns should continue and measures implemented to ensure the virus, also known as  COVID-19 is well contained while lasting solutions continue to be sought internationally to subdue                                                             it.

More needs to be done to raise awareness even in the remotest of areas which need to be made aware of its existence, symptoms, impact on livelihoods and what can be done to ensure it is not spread.

President Mnangagwa has reassured the nation that Zimbabwe stands ready to deal with the disease and more resources are being directed towards its preparedness.

Speaking during the clean-up campaign in Gutu on Friday, the President said all was set.

Such efforts need to be supported by families and communities that should remain on high alert and engage in practices that minimise risk.

The disturbing fact that the virus can be spread before the carrier of the disease shows its symptoms serves as a wake-up call to Government and relevant authorities to ensure tight health security before the deadly virus surfaces in the country.

Measures put in place at points of entry should assist greatly in this regard. Furthermore, the recent assistance from China and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) with protective equipment has come at the right time.

China’s efforts to assist the country  by sending a delegation to ensure we are adequately prepared is highly commendable.

The assistance rendered to Zimbabwe by the two countries will surely go a long way in increasing its preparedness and awareness.

The virus has already impacted public services in some countries,  with schools, doctors’ surgeries and other services  being closed as a precautionary measure.

President Mnangagwa has restricted international travel especially outside Africa, while civil servants have been banned from foreign trips as Government intensifies efforts to minimise the risk of exposure to the citizenry.

Minimising movement is a key part of solutions to ensure the virus is contained as efforts continue  to be made the world over to find a permanent cure.

In pursuit of minimising risk, Government has also announced that people visiting Zimbabwe from areas affected by the epidemic without medical documents confirming they have tested negative to the virus will be denied entry.

The onus is on all of us to do our best and ensure Zimbabwe is not among the growing list of afflicted countries.

It is possible.

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