Bulawayo eases diarrhoea cases

BULAWAYO has managed to bring cases of diarrhoea infections down from a peak of 457 recorded recently.

A fortnight ago the city confirmed a diarrhoeal outbreak with a total of 157 people having been affected.

The outbreak was first reported on November 28 in Tshabalala Extension.

Speaking to NewZimbabwe.com Monday on the sidelines of the Bulawayo SMEs Centre launch, chairperson of the BCC finance and development committee, Tawanda Ruzive, said adequate measures are being implemented.

"The first thing obviously was to understand what has caused that. We realised that to an extent that the water shedding which was happening all along was contributing. This is because when water reconnects it would carry all the dirt and normally people consumed that water. So as we continued to assess this further we made arrangements for Tshabalala to continue to have water in order to avoid these disruptions," he said.

Initially, the affected area had been exempted from water cuts as the city is carrying out regular flushing of the water system to normalise the situation.

In addition, a dedicated sewer contractor is working in Tshabalala suburb to clear any chokes.

Bulawayo is also currently under a 72-hour water shedding regime and is advising residents to boil all water for domestic use.