…As President Mnangagwa announces new measures to curb the Omicron variant

Ngoni Dapira

A total of 48 new covid-19 positive cases have been confirmed as of last week in Mutare and the high density suburb of Chikanga has once again emerged as a covid-19 hot spot area, Easterntimeszim has learnt. Manicaland has 84 new cases reported in the last 24 hours of which 35 new cases reported as of yesterday are from educational institutions in Mutare.

This was said yesterday (Tuesday) during a Gender and Media Connect (GMC) media engagement breakfast meeting with stakeholders on bridging the information gap around covid-19 and vaccinations.

City of Mutare Environmental Health Officer Eunice Muyambuki said they are still waiting for the genomic sequencing to analyse the covid-19 virus samples taken from diagnosed patients to be compared with other cases of the new B.1.1.529 variant which was named Omicron by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“We seem to be taking off on the fourth wave and we really want our communities to be well informed and to take corrective measures on protecting themselves. We have a total of 48 cases as of now in the city. Most cases are coming from Chikanga. We are trying to find out what is it with Chikanga because in the first and second wave of covid-19, statistics also showed that Chikanga had the highest cases and this is remaining the same now,” she said.

Adding, “The second highest cases were in the CBD (central business district) mostly attributed to the seven cases diagnosed at Mutare Polytechnic College on Monday. Yeovil is the third suburb with highest number of cases while Florida and Fairpark both had two cases,”

She encouraged people to get vaccinated to increase immunity to covid-19 and increase the country’s covid-19 headcount which is anticipated to lessen the burden of work. “We need you the media to amplify the importance of getting vaccinated. Vaccination lessens the burden of work in the sense that if people get sick they are not severely sick, they are moderate and the transmutability is not so fast in vaccinated people than in un-vaccinated people,” she said.

Muyambuki said because of the porosity of Zimbabwe’s borders and the fact that South Africa is Zimbabwe’s largest trading partner as a nation it is prudent not to rule out Omicron to be already in the country. She said as a local authority they are already treating the current covid-19 cases with importance because containing the spread is better than waiting for an outbreak.

“We see loads and loads of goods from South Africa everyday and we have runners who bring the goods from South Africa going there almost twice a week. So as we wait for the genomic sequencing being done at national level let us not wait to be told we have a new variant before taking effective control measures but let us be proactive and act as if we have Omicron. This will help us curb fatalities,” she said.

Coincidentally, yesterday President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced a raft of new and enhanced measures to stem the spread of the covid-19 pandemic following the discovery of a new variant in neighboring South Africa.

He said with immediate effect, all returning residents and visitors will undergo PCR testing and quarantine at their own costs, curfew hours have been increased to run from 9 pm to 6 am, no alcohol will be consumed at bottle stores while night clubs and bars will serve vaccinated clients only. The President said covid-19 related funerals will be supervised by health authorities while restaurants now close at 7 pm.

President Mnangagwa also urged the unvaccinated population to get vaccinated.

“Let me reiterate that the government requires individuals and communities to continue adhering to all the recommended prevention measures, including social distancing, wearing face masks properly, avoiding closed spaces, washing hands with soap and under running water, sanitizing and of course getting fully vaccinated,” he said.

In her presentation Muyambuki said the non-compliance of people to WHO covid-19 had become a serious concern and more concerted efforts through a multi-stakeholder approach need to be effected immediately in the wake of the anticipated fourth wave.

“Consistency on policing WHO covid-19 regulations is now needed. We need to enforce policing on potential super spreaders such as areas where illegal money changers operate, banks where people queue for money, funerals and in public transport,” she said.