HURUNGWE district is steadily winning its fight on Covid-19, three months after it was placed under localised lockdown, The NewsHawks has established.
NHAU MANGIRAZI
The country’s second-largest district was placed under localised lockdown with Kariba following a surge in infections.
In an interview this week, district medical officer Munyaradzi Chidaushe said although Hurungwe is not yet “out of the woods”, it is making progress.
On Thursday, 590 tests were carried out in the district and 18 of these 18 turned out positive.
“Currently, we have one patient in the isolation ward who is in stable condition. This is positive for the district and the nation at large,” Chidaushe said.
“As we speak, the Covid-19 cases and deaths have declined in the district. There has been a decline in the admissions in the isolation ward and fewer deaths recorded. These are the facts we have at hand and it’s a positive development for us as a district.
“However, we urge the communities not to be complacent as the Covid-19 risk remains high. This also explains the extension of the Level Four lockdown. Our scoring first can be attributed to the measures that were put in place by the government through its localised lockdown in response to a surge in cases around the province,’’ he said.
Chidaushe was however cautious, saying there is a possibility for another wave, hence the need for the population to continue observing Covid-19 preventive guidelines. These include vaccination, consistent and correct use of face masks, hand-washing and social distancing.
Mashonaland West provincial heath promotion officer George Kamupondo said immunisation outreach campaigns targeting fishers, marketplaces, artisanal miners and tobacco farmers yielded positive results.
“We are happy that Hurungwe scored first in vaccination within the province, through community awareness campaigns with other organisations like the Lions Club International Karoi chapter, that has been forthcoming and the community responded well,” Kamupondo said.
Hurungwe has vaccinated 46 874 people from the 52 394 first dose vaccines it was allocated, while Chegutu is second-placed with 38 403 inoculated out of 54 489 vaccines delivered.
Kariba received 27 286 vaccines and administered 25 670, while Makonde inoculated 27 376 from 35 075 vaccines.Mhondoro vaccinated 25 207 out of 28 660, while Sanyati managed 20 771 out of 23 236 and Zvimba had 29 911 out of 32 560.
On the second dose, Hurungwe inoculated 18 657 from 56 874 vaccines delivered, while Chegutu had 20 564 inoculated out of 43 528 vaccines delivered.
Kariba had 5 534 vaccinated out of 26 338 on the second jab while Makonde administered 14 038 out of 31 418 second vaccines, with Mhondoro inoculating 12 631 from 22 511 vaccines.
In Sanyati, 8 002 people received their second vaccines from the 11 476 allocated whereas Zvimba had 10 411 people inoculated from 35 852 vaccines.
