Harare, (New Ziana) – St Annes Hospital, which is being upgraded to a state of the art 100-bed facility for Covid-19 patients, will open to the public on Friday next week, an official has said.
Management of the Roman Catholic Church-owned hospital, whose operations have been erratic during the past few years, has been taken over by a group of “concerned citizens” and private sector players under the name The Solidarity Trust of Zimbabwe.
A representative of the trust, businessman Nigel Chanakira said a budget of nearly US$1 million had been set aside for refurbishment of the hospital into a world class facility.
“We are on the ground, supported by various private sector players. We are looking to register it as a WHO (World Health Organisation) approved centre to a level of excellence and best international practice in terms of combating COVID-19.”
“We want this to be a centre for treatment, cure, care in that regard as an isolation centre,” Chanakira said during the meeting which President Emmerson Mnangagwa held with business people on Friday.
“We have a budget of US$900 000 in order to bring up a 100-bed facility to be available. Our scheduled opening date is the 10th of April.”
He said the trust was also working on upgrading three other clinics that would be used for COVID-19 testing in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare.
Plans were also underway to support government owned clinics with medical packs that contain an assortment of drugs under a facility aimed at vulnerable members of the community, including the elderly.
“Each clinic will receive medical packs that contain essential drugs that can treat up to 300 people per pack,” he said, adding about US$300 000 had so far been mobilised under the initiative with the consignments soon to be received.
The initiatives were part of efforts the private sector was making to assist the government in dealing with the deadly corona virus which has killed over 60 000 people and infected over a million others globally.
On its part, the government is working on upgrading central, district and mission hospitals to enable them to take care of people infected by the pandemic.
Over $500 million has to date been availed in the fight against COVID-19, with an international appeal for US$220 million having been made as the government prepares for the worst.
Zimbabwe currently has nine confirmed cases of coronavirus, including one death.
New Ziana