Harare(New Ziana) – Zimbabwe said on Monday one of the country’s two confirmed coronavirus patients had died in the capital.

The patient was admitted to Wilkins Hospital last Friday after his Covid-19 infection was confirmed, becoming the second victim of the disease.

Ministry of Health and Child Care permanent secretary Agnes Mahomva told New Ziana the patient had died on Monday, but refused to give more details.

“Yes, I can confirm one of the patients who was at Wilkins Hospital has passed on,” she said, adding: “More information will be released later on.”

The patient had recently returned from New York in the United States where he is suspected to have been infected.

The US is one of the countries hardest hit by coronavirus, and parts of New York are in lockdown as a precautionary measure against its spread.

The other patient is in hospital in the resort town of Victoria Falls, and is also suspected to have been infected outside the country.

He recently returned from Britain, another country hard hit by Covid-19.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care has said the Victoria Falls patient was responding well to treatment in the local hospital, one of three the country has designated to handle Covid-19 cases.

Wilkins Hospital is also a Covid-19 specialist treatment centre.

At the weekend, Health and Child Care Minister Obadiah Moyo said a search had began for all people that might have come into contact with the two patients.

The country has heightened testing and surveillance, particularly at ports of entry, for the disease, which the government has declared a national disaster to allow it to mobilise resources to combat.

Stringent precautionary measures have also been taken, including shutting down schools, colleges and universities and small border posts.

New Ziana