Illegal returnees haunt Matabeleland North

31 May, 2020 - 00:05 0 Views
Illegal returnees haunt Matabeleland North Minister Richard Moyo

The Sunday News

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
MATABELELAND North has seen an influx of returnees from neighbouring countries, with some of them using undesignated entry points, curtailing the country’s fight against Covid-19, an official has said.

Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Cde Richard Moyo made the remarks during the Matabeleland North Province Covid-19 Taskforce meeting in Bulawayo yesterday.

“Of concern, however, is that some returnees use undesignated points to return home. These returnees pose a threat to our fight against Covid-19. They are a threat to our communities. As a province, I promise that we will not allow such behaviour to negatively derail the national response strategy. Therefore, let me make a clarion call to all people in the province at all levels to report all such cases to our community leaders; traditional leaders included. We have to be vigilant in this regard.”

Cde Moyo said the number of returnees had increased over the past few weeks, with three quarantine centres in the province holding 530 people.

“Over the past weeks, we have witnessed a cumulative increase in the returnees passing through our quarantine centres with Mosi oa Tunya High School having 302, Lupane State University with 156 and Mabhikwa High School having 72. We have seen incidences of some of our returnees absconding from Mabhikwa High School. This calls for us to remain alert and responsive as we handle our returnees.

“I urge our line ministries’ staff in these centres to continue in swiftness during their response. We need to help in the management of numbers in these quarantine centres by making sure that we help provide testing on recommended time frames. This will help our quarantine centres to avoid congestion; keeping our numbers under the recommended carrying capacities,” he said.

The Matabeleland North Provincial Welfare Officer, Mr Macnon Chiripenzi, said they were struggling to pacify returnees who were agitated by being mandated to spend more than 21 days in quarantine centres. The returnees cannot be released without being given the results of their polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

“PCR tests are one of the issues that are affecting our quarantine centres because some of the returnees have already exceeded the 21-day period that they’re supposed to spend in quarantine. Some of them are now on their 23rd day and hence some of them are already being very impatient and at times volatile.

“We are seized with the task of going there and talking to them, consoling them and making sure that they understand the situation on the ground so that they cannot go out into the community without knowing their status.

“This is for their protection and for the protection of the people in the community where they’re going to be repatriated,” he said.
Acting Provincial Medical Director for Matabeleland North Province Dr Munekayi Padingani also explained on the latest case Covid-19 case in the province.

“The case is a 23-year-old patient. He was last at work on 27 March 2020. The patient visited St Patrick’s in May complaining of flu like symptoms, cough and shortness of breath.

“The patient was treated with paracetamol and cough mixture while a specimen was collected. It came back positive and the patient is currently asymptomatic. Contact tracing was done and no contact from that contact was symptomatic.

“RTP tests were done on all contacts and they all came back negative. A seconded specimen for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was collected and results are still pending,” he said.

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