Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe has recorded another confirmed case of coronavirus, bringing the total so far to nine, including one death, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said on Friday.

In its daily update, the Ministry said one more person tested positive on Thursday out of 42 samples tested.

The news came as Zimbabwe entered the 5th of a 21-day national lockdown which President Emmerson Mnangagwa ordered last Friday as part of measures to prevent further spread of the disease.

The Ministry of Health said the 42 samples that were tested came from six of the country’s ten provinces and bring the total number of tests conducted to date to 316.

“The ninth patient is a 50 year old male resident of Harare, who had traveled to the United Kingdom and returned home on 21 March 2020,” it said.

“He started exhibiting mild symptoms and the local COVID-19 Rapid Response Team went to assess him at home on April 1st 2020 and
collected samples for testing.”

The country remains on high alert, with authorities, besides enforcing the lockdown, urging people to maintain high levels of hygiene.

The government has declared the pandemic, which has killed over 50 000 people globally, a national disaster and on Thursday launched an appeal for at least US$220 million to tackle the disease.

A special fund to mobilise resources for tackling the coronavirus, open to donations from anyone, has also been set up.
New Ziana