Kwekwe hospitals run out of staff

THE City of Kwekwe has reportedly been hit by a shortage of nursing staff following a surge in COVID-19 cases at the city's clinics and hospitals that has forced most health workers into isolation.

The authorities in the city have now roped in medical personnel from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces to fill in the gap.

Kwekwe district COVID-19 taskforce chairperson Vitalis Kwashira said they were in dire need of health workers after some of them were been forced into isolation.

"We are in dire need of help because some of our nurses have tested positive and we have shortages at clinics," Kwashira said.

"We also do not have enough staff to conduct the vaccination programmes. We have resolved as a committee to write to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces so that we can get staff if possible.

"We do not have enough isolation centres in Kwekwe. It is like we are breeding the virus at home because people test positive and they get quarantined at home."

He said they were currently renovating Bale Medical Centre and Kwekwe Infectious Disease Hospital as isolation centres to ease the pressure.

"Some restaurants are now opening, commuter omnibuses are now operating and some beer outlets are opening. This is worrisome and we call for tighter enforcement of regulations to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the city," he said.

Kwekwe was the first city in the country where the deadly Indian Delta variant of COVID-19 was detected. Government swiftly moved in to declare a localised lockdown in the Midlands city.

Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa revealed after Tuesday's Cabinet meeting that government would rope in State security agents to expedite rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.