Zim to quicken Covid-19 testing, tracing

Harare(New Ziana) – The government said on Tuesday it intended to shortly speed up testing and tracing of potential Covid-19 victims through greater use of information communication technology (ICT).

The country has registered eight Covid-19 cases, including one death.

Addressing a post- Cabinet media briefing, Health and Child Care Minister, Obadiah Moyo said current testing time-frames for Covid-19 were too long.
It takes at least five hours to get a result.

“Our testing system takes a long time because it is not the rapid system which takes 15 minutes. In future we want the waiting time to be reduced by using rapid tests. But the disadvantage is that if it comes out positive, you still have to go back to doing the five – hour laboratory tests for confirmation,” Moyo said.

In addition, he said government also wanted to put in place more effective ways to trace contacts of confirmed Covid-19 patients in order to more speedily control the spread.

“We are building on the use of ICTs available to give us assistance to release information regarding a patient, like where he has been and to assist people in knowing if they had been exposed to a Covid-19 patient,” Moyo said.

“It helps us to trace the contact by utilising satellite and phones. It’s coming in a matter of days,” he added.

Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Professor Amon Murwira said a team had been formed to work on the new ICT to be used in tracing potential Covid-19 victims, and would use geo-spatial systems.

“Its true we have assembled our team to work with the Ministry of Health. It uses geo-spatial information systems and telephones to trace where a patient would have been,” he said.

Moyo attributed the country’s low Covid-19 positive numbers to tight screening at ports of entry, which has since been stepped up.

The first three cases to turn positive were all imported, and the rest were people who came into contact with these.

“Everyone who was coming through our borders was thoroughly checked, contact information taken and they were monitored by a team of medical officers,” Moyo said.

New Ziana