'Expect more Covid-19 cases and deaths'

THE public has been warned that the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic being experienced in Zimbabwe is far from reaching its peak, hence there are high chances that more positive cases and deaths will be recorded in the coming few weeks.

Mpilo hospital acting chief executive officer, Professor Solwayo Ngwenya, who has been vocal over the possibility of mass infections and deaths because of the relaxed approach by the public, said there was a lot of misinformation about the pandemic, hence there was a danger of more mass infections and deaths.

"A virus has stages from having cases then moving to deaths, it kills a lot of people before weakening and returning again in stronger waves. So, of this second wave, I am afraid but we are just at the beginning of a very terrible crisis, we are nowhere near what you call a peak.

"Further, we are not just talking of a second wave but there will be many waves to come of this pandemic, this virus will flatten a lot of us, it will come in different waves and each time the wave will be stronger and deadlier than the previous one. I said it in October (last year) that there will be more waves and different variants but people took Professor Solwayo Ngwenya for a fool, now look at what is happening," said Prof Ngwenya.

He said the public was so relaxed that some people were seeking treatment late after relying on home remedies. Prof Ngwenya said this was part of the misinformation which was threatening to hinder the country's fight against the pandemic.

"People also come late for treatment because there is stigma, people are hiding their results, some are opting for home remedies as a form of treatment and when they are about to collapse, they then come to hospital, with some dying on admission. What they do not realise is they have to check the amount of oxygen there is in their lungs and bodies before they steam. They should not think steaming is a remedy when they are about to die.

"There is a lot of misinformation regarding this coronavirus, some people even don't believe that there is coronavirus, as I have said before there is need for urgent attention to this pandemic.

Coronavirus is a serious global emergency, it should show that we are in an emergency," he said.

Prof Ngwenya decried the status of people living in rural areas saying their situation was unique such that they risked being exposed to the pandemic more and their figures not captured because of a poor data capturing system.

"People in rural areas are in trouble when they go to pick up food parcels, buy at the shops and even when boarding public transport. Further, their situation is peculiar because their accessibility to health care facilities is very limited," he said.

Meanwhile, in the past week as of yesterday, the country had recorded a total of 4 126 new cases, a drop from the 6 382 new infections, which were recorded in the previous week. On deaths the country had 291 deaths which replaces the previous week as the bloodiest week in the country thus far. In the previous week 200 deaths were recorded.

Harare had the highest number of new infections last week which were pegged at 1 649. The country has now recorded 31 007 cases, 21 377 recoveries and 974 deaths since March last year.