Harare (New Ziana) – A second person has died of Covid-19 in the country, the Ministry of Health and Child Care has said.

In a statement late on Tuesday, the Ministry said a 79 year old man had succumbed to the coronavirus at the weekend in Bulawayo.

The man fell ill late last month, and was admitted to hospital after complaining of a persistent cough, sore throat and fever.

His condition continued to deteriorate, despite treatment, and he died on Saturday.

The man becomes the country’s eleventh Covid-19 case, and second death registered. The first fatality was that of broadcaster Zororo Makamba last month, who had contracted the virus in the US.

“The Ministry would like to report that today (Tuesday), the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory tested 21 samples. One of these tested positive for Covid-19, bringing to eleven the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases reported to date. However, this eleventh case passed away in hospital on Saturday 4th April 2020,” the Ministry said.

“The eleventh case was a 79 year old male resident of Bulawayo who initially presented to a general practitioner on the 23td of March 2020 with a history of cough, sore throat and fever. When he did not improve on oral antibiotic treatment, he presented to a local hospital on Thursday 2 April 2020 where he was admitted,” it added.

The man later died in hospital.

New Ziana