More
    HomeHealthGovt ups Covid-19 testing, lists 12 target groups

    Govt ups Covid-19 testing, lists 12 target groups

    Published on

    spot_img

    Harare, (New Ziana) – The Ministry of Health and Child Care has identified 12 key sections of the society that will be prioritised for immediate Covid-19 testing as efforts to combat the spread of the virus intensify.

    The strategy comes on the heels of government having received batches of new testing kits from the Africa Centre for Disease Control, World
    Health Organisation and the missing reagents for the 20 000 kits donated by the Jack Ma Foundation.

    With only 665 samples having been tested since the first case was
    recorded last month, Health and Child Care Permanent Secretary, Dr Agnes Mahomva said the target was to test 33 000 people by end of this month.

    “In order to achieve the required level of testing and therefore
    generate sufficient evidence for programming of the Covid-19 pandemic
    in Zimbabwe, a strategy for testing has been presented and approved by
    the Inter-ministerial Task Force on Covid-19 chaired by Vice President
    Kembo Mohadi,” she said in communication directed to health officials.

    The groups of people targeted for testing has been extended to include
    all travellers coming into the country on arrival from countries affected
    by the virus, all those discharged from quarantine, people with
    influenza like illnesses, all contacts of Covid-19 confirmed patients
    regardless of symptoms, all cases of pneumonia, and all patients with
    fever in health facilities.

    Also on the list for immediate testing are all frontline health care
    workers in the fight against the virus, all community deaths in areas
    where there is local transmission and people above the age of 60
    admitted in hospitals.

    Essential service workers, such as those who work in supermarkets, law enforcement, food outlets, who have been permitted to work during the on-going lockdown as well as civil servants will also be tested.

    All people living at the old people’s home where the late Patient 11
    used to stay, where a number of cases have since been recorded will
    also be tested, Dr Mahomva said.

    Both government owned and private hospitals have been directed to
    dispatch teams to attend to the targeted group to collect samples.

    As of 14 April 2020, Zimbabwe had three Covid-19 deaths, 18 confirmed
    cases and one recovery.
    New Ziana

    Latest articles

    Warrant of arrest for Gwanda man who killed wife for denying his conjugal rights

    Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-The Bulawayo High Court has issued a warrant of arrest for a...

    Parliament pushes for decentralization of cancer treatment

    Harare,  (New Ziana)-The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care has called for...

    Bulawayo to take hard stance on stray dogs

    Bulawayo, February 14,2025(New Ziana)- The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has issued a stern warning...

    No longer business as usual: Improved feeds transforming livestock production in Zimbabwe

    By Johnson Siamachira Harare, (New Ziana) — At dawn, the sun casts its first golden...

    More like this

    Warrant of arrest for Gwanda man who killed wife for denying his conjugal rights

    Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-The Bulawayo High Court has issued a warrant of arrest for a...

    Parliament pushes for decentralization of cancer treatment

    Harare,  (New Ziana)-The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care has called for...

    Bulawayo to take hard stance on stray dogs

    Bulawayo, February 14,2025(New Ziana)- The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has issued a stern warning...