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Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council’s department of health services has been hit by a resource deficit in its fight against Covid-19 as surveillance teams face a shortage of fuel, airtime and staff.

Bulawayo mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni in the fourth edition of his weekly Mayor’s Covid-19 report said fuel shortages were hampering activities of the surveillance and rapid response teams.

Clr Mguni said if the number of cases increased in the city, the current staff available will not be able to render services effectively calling for the Ministry of Health and Child care to intervene by deploying nurses to the city’s health department.

The mayor also called for the provision of ventilators and the speedy setting up of an ICU facility. “We continue to be faced by a number of resource gaps affecting efficient response such as inadequate fuel and airtime for surveillance, Inadequate human resources should the cases increase, need for more oxygen canisters, flow metres, delivery tubes and masks or nasal prongs,” reads the report.

The mayor bemoaned public disregard of social distancing advice in the city and said it could also pose challenges for its health service teams as failure to practice social distancing could potentially increase infections.

Clr Mguni also touched on the need for accommodation to isolate staff members that are exposed to the virus. “Whilst Thorngrove Hospital at present can admit anything from asymptomatic to mild cases, it does not have ICU/HDU facilities nor a ventilator. There is no accommodation for isolating staff that may be exposed and there is no observation of social distancing,” read the report.

The mayor proposed that the Ministry of Health and Child Care bail the city health department through provision of fuel and airtime for surveillance, amongst other things.

“The City proposes the following recommendations and priority follow up actions to ensure efficiency in our response to COVID-19: MoHCC to avail fuel and airtime for surveillance, Acting PMD to expedite secondment of 15 nurses to BCC as per commitment, Expediting infrastructure renovations for piped oxygen etc,” read the report. -@andile_tshuma.