Zimbabwe has handled the corona virus pandemic like it has everything else the characteristic blundering incompetence.
“Masvingo marked a record single-day increase in the number of Covid-19 cases on Tuesday (11 January 2021) as it emerged that the Province is operating with only a single isolation centre for the public,” reported the Masvingo Mirror.
“Health officials confirmed 98 new cases of the novel coronavirus out of 123 tests done on Tuesday. They also confirmed that four people died during the same day.
“The cumulative cases in the province stood at 872 most of which are health officials. The national death toll is 446 as of yesterday.”
Zimbabwe has had very, very low corona virus cases and deaths up to now and we all know why - the country has not been testing anywhere near the level recommended by WHO and common sense would dictate. On many, many occasions Masvingo has reported zero cases and deaths only for one to notice the Province has not carried out even one single test that day.
So there were 123 test and 98 came out positive. Of the 872 cumulative cases in the province we are being told “most of which are health officials”. These facts point to one thing - the Province’s test regime has been wilfully inadequate.
By failing to test diligently many of the people with the virus were missed out and they continue to mix in society spreading the virus. And now the Province is paying dearly for it; the corona virus cases and deaths are soaring.
“Masvingo is operating with Rujeko Clinic as the only working isolation centre for Covid-19 patients, forcing health officials to release most patients home for self-isolation,” continue the Mirror report.
“The province does not have capacity to deal with cases since it lacks ventilators as well as qualified personnel to operate the machines, putting patients at risk of dying,”
The problem of failing to test adequately and keep track of the virus is not only a Masvingo Province problem alone but is one replicated country wide.
Some day, one of these fine days, Zimbabwe must carryout a through, no holds barred, investigation into why Zimbabwe had one of the lowest corona virus tests per capita in the world. And how much this single blunder contributed to the corona virus cases and deaths - many of which were missed from the official record - in the country.
“Seri kweguva hakuna muteuro!” (We cannot bring back the dead!) so goes the Shona adage. Still, if we can learn the lesson why so many people have had to suffer and many have dead when by testing widely the suffering and deaths could have been easily avoided!
11/01/21 there been 820 new cases and 21 deaths and 1518 PCR tests carried out.
ReplyDeleteThere are now 22297 cases and 528 deaths.
This does not make any sense at all we have new covid-19 cases going up 800 plus every day for the last week now and yet we are still carrying out 1518 PCR test a day. We are clearly not carrying out adequate tests to be tracking and tracing the spread of the virus. We are not even testing two contacts of the new cases much less do any meaningful tracking of previous cases.
For a country that knows that its health care facilities are none existent - forget about being overwhelmed - we should at least be doing something with the testing and isolate since it is our only line of defence!
Teachers’ unions have claimed that about 200 of their members currently marking recently completed ZIMSEC examinations have tested positive for Covid-19.
ReplyDeleteWhere are some of these figures disappearing to, they are certainly not included in the official figures otherwise our covid-19 cases will not still be 22 297! We have been living a lie and are now paying dearly for it as the covid-19 figure soar!
@Knowledge
ReplyDelete“100% correct sir. The likes of USA are dying yet have best systems. Its all God's doing, he is the one keeping us safe.”
Whether the corona virus is “is all God’s doing” is a mute point here.
What is not in dispute is that those nations that have been quick off the mark, are competent and focused have done a great job of containing the corona virus. Those nations, like Zimbabwe, that were are down on their knees long before the pandemic and are governed by blundering village idiots have done very, very badly.
America has done very badly, it had the misfortune of its worse leader ever these last four years. Thank God it is all over, the booted Trump out of White House. Same cannot be said about Zimbabwe, we are still stuck with the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF for 40 years and counting!
13/1/2021
ReplyDelete3 507 PCR tests, 24 256 (1017) cases and 589 (38) deaths.
There is no doubt that Zimbabwe has not been testing near enough to keep track of the corona virus in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe does not have formal isolation facilities and so most of these new cases will of people living freely in the community and will have four or more conducts per day times 3 days to be tested.
For a Province like Matabeleland South and Masvingo to be carrying less than 100 tests per day and often none when there have been a number of new cases can only be because they do not have the test kits.
For country that knows that it can offer no health care to any of its citizens who should become seriously sick from the corona virus because its health care service have all but completely collapsed; one would think Zimbabwe will throw everything into testing and isolation. But even that would be expecting too much from this blunderingly incompetent regime!
The densely populated Trojan Nickel Mine has become the hotspot of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic in Bindura, Bulawayo24.com has learnt.
ReplyDeleteMore than 50 people tested positive to Covid-19 in the mining compound.
One of the residents who tested positive to the deadly disease bemoaned overpopulation at the mine and lack of proper health facilities.
If the data of corona virus cases is being send to the relevant government authorities for the consolidated national corona virus cases and deaths then there must be a black hole in this government office because information goes in and never comes out again. Zimbabwe’s official corona virus cases and deaths has no bearing to the reality out there.
Zanu PF is cooking the corona virus figures, watering them down the same way the party watered down Tsvangirai’s 73% votes, according to Mugabe’s own Freudian slip, in the March 2008 election turning it into a 47%.
By misreporting the corona virus cases it is easy to overlook corona virus hotspots with disastrous consequences to the community involved and the nation at large.
Samantha Power is a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Her book A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction in 2003. Her new book, The Education of an Idealist, from which this article is adapted, will be published this month by HarperCollins.
ReplyDelete2222
This is an insightful article and I for one am looking forward to reading the book. Thank you.
“The Zimbabwe case offers some important insights. It illustrates the prime importance of accountability as an antidote to idiocy and excess. It highlights the lasting effects of decolonization—limited Western influence on the continent and a reluctance by African leaders to criticize their own. And it offers a warning about how much damage one man can do, very quickly,” you said.
Sadly, you are spot-on, Africans, not just leaders, but leaders and ordinary people alike, loath criticising anyone much so anyone in a position of power and authority. In Zimbabwe the people have been brain-washed into believing expressing a different point of view much less criticise will lead to disunity and confrontation. So the people have followed so truly foolish policies, “Mugonomics” as you called it, for the sake of keeping the peace.
The people themselves have failed to see the critical importance of open debate and rigorous democratic competition in pushing everyone to excel. The people have often called for democracy without realising that they cannot have their cake, blind loyalty to great leader, and eat it too.
Needless to say leaders have been quick to take full advantage of this naive and gullible public to elevate themselves onto pedestal claiming to be infallible. The lack of democratic accountability has, more often than not, turned them into corrupt, incompetent and murderous tyrants or, at best, blundering village idiots exercising power and authority way above their level of competence!
After 40 years of this stifling Zanu PF dictatorship the country is cry for freedom and liberty. We are ready to implement the democratic reforms and dismantle the totalitarian dictatorship, make Zimbabwe a healthy and functioning democracy and banish the village idiots who have ruled this land forever. Mark this space!
ReplyDelete@ Tondo
ReplyDeleteTrump crying foul after being... trumped and trampled in recent American elections. Elections stolen in great America, my foot! The cradle of democracy now turned 'mobocracy', who will guard the guard?
But alas, even social media operators found it necessary to delete or suspend Trump accounts. The man is breathing fire urging his supporters to continue with the protests. When and where shall democracy find a home?
Even those who founded it can not practice democracy. We find no reasons for sanctions on little Zimbabwe.
Sanctions must go.
“Sanctions must go!” you have the failed to understanding what is happening here. Trump and his mob stormed Capitol Hill last Wednesday and they are not paying for their hooliganism. Many of the activists have already been arrested and will be charged and punished.
Many of the 74 million Americans who voted for Trump are now denouncing for his refusal to accept that he lost the elections. By storming Capital Hill, the citadel of American democracy, to reverse the people’s democratic wish Trump crossed the double red-lines no one with half a brain would ever allow. He is now being impeached and it is only the beginning.
Those Trump threatened are still in power and are wielding it. And it is same people punishing Trump for attempting to usurp the people’s democratic right to free, fair and credible elections who imposed sanction on the Zanu PF thugs for successfully rigging elections. If are punishing Trump for trying and failing you think they must not punish Zanu PF for committing the same cardinal sin and succeeding! How irrational is that!
Zanu PF can be certain the sanctions will remain and, I hope, enhanced. It will be good to add such individuals as Minister of Finance Mthuli Ncube for working with the regime and MDC leaders for participating in flawed and illegal elections and giving the regime legitimacy.
Welcome to the real world!
I have heard of too many deaths of Zimbabweans who had all the covid-19 symptoms but have not been counted as covid-19 deaths for only one reason - they were never tested for the virus. No doubt many of these people have been buried without following the strict covid-19 protocol because, officially, they died of something else and not covid. I can only imagine how many other people ended up with the virus because they were never told the truth.
ReplyDeleteTHE country recorded 741 new Covid-19 positive cases and 30 deaths on Wednesday. All 741 cases are local cases with 263 cases from Harare alone. A total of 3 386 PCR tests were conducted and this means 22% of people tested were positive.
ReplyDeleteZimbabwe's corona virus cases and deaths are one of the lowest per capita in the world but only because Zimbabwe has also carried out the lowest number of tests per capita. We are living a lie and paying dearly for it because many corona virus deaths are not buried following the strict corona virus protocol because the relative assumed the person died of something else. This would have only resulted in even more people getting the virus!
But, Chiwenga assured citizens must not to panic and rely on official government information and not social media.
ReplyDelete“It would be, however, an exaggeration at this stage, to suggest that our health institutions are overwhelmed by cases of Covid-19,” he said in a statement Friday.
“Admittedly, the recent escalation of cases of the pandemic in the country caused a high demand for health care. Nonetheless, let me reassure citizens that Zimbabwe’s public and private health institutions still have adequate capacity to offer health services to all patients.
“In light of widely circulating reports alleging that there is a serious deficit of hospital beds, let me point out that these were ‘embellished social media allegations by some pen-mercenaries’.”
Chiwenga added: “However, if the need arises in future, my ministry may consider options of increasing facilities currently designated for Covid-19 or designate more hospitals to take in patients.
“In a worst case scenario, that has so far not manifested, all hospitals in the country may be directed to take in citizens affected by Covid-19.”
Government has not been testing for corona virus all those with corona virus like symptoms and all for the purpose of keeping the corona virus figures low. This is a regime more concerned about appearances than doing what is good for the nation. Zanu PF has been boasting about the low official corona virus cases, taking them as proof it has contain the virus. The reality is different and by down playing the true figures more people ended up getting the virus.
Announcing the 30-day lockdown, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga (pictured), who is also the Health minister, failed to articulate a comprehensive Covid-19 response strategy beyond reading out lockdown commandments.
ReplyDeleteThis comes at a time the country’s referral hospital are overwhelmed by the number of Covid-19 patients, desperate to survive amid a shortage of equipment to deal with the virus. While government spokesperson Nick Mangwana admitted that the virus could overrun the health sector, the government’s plan has only been limited to restricting movement.
Under the new lockdown measures, Zimbabweans are expected to stay at home, except essential service providers, while a stringent dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed, followed by the deployment of security personnel to deal with any Covid-19 violators. The informal sector will be forced to stay at home with no income.
Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza says government has been haphazard in its response strategy and criticised Mnangagwa’s administration of failing to come up with unique intervention mechanisms to fight Covid-19.
“We have been teasing Mnangagwa as Ramakhopa because his government tends to echo what South Africa does. The response has been haphazard, there is no rationality,” Mandaza said. “He portrays lack of policy on Covid, the most confused.”
Mandaza said government had no Covid-19 plan, criticising the militaristic strategies of dealing with the pandemic.
“There is nothing beyond treating the country like a military barrack. There is no attempt to engage citizens. The latest lockdown is too harsh, especially on the poor. It is antanti-poor. How do they survive?” Mandaza asked.
A professor of world politics at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, Stephen Chan, weighed in, saying the government needs to reassure citizens of a comprehensive plan to deal with surging cases, while protecting the unaffected population.
“The government needs to reassure the citizens it has a Covid-19 plan beyond lockdown. It needs to say it has a vaccination policy and plan,” Chan said.
Chan said Zimbabweans should ask tough questions regarding the availability of a vaccine and hold government to account on a plan going forward.
Mnangagwa may be copying what SA is doing but not when it comes to testing and isolating. Whilst SA was doing over 44 000 tests per day last month Zimbabwe was doing 1 500 or so. With 1/4 the population of SA Zimbabwe should be doing 11 000 test. This explains why Zimbabwe’s corona cases and deaths remain one of the lowest per capita in the world.