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Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Correspondent
HEALTH experts have called for the public to remain cautious about their health during the fight against Covid-19 despite the relaxation of some restrictions as the lockdown goes into level two.
Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZIMA) secretary-general Dr Sacrifice Chirisa said members of the public with no business in public spaces must still remain at home for the good of their health and that of the general public.

He called for the correct use of masks and said people must not reuse disposable masks, while reusable masks must be washed and ironed before use.

Dr Chirisa said the washing and ironing were necessary as it was a double sterilisation method meant to remove all bacteria and viruses when the mask has been exposed to the virus, from the one wearing it or from aerosols in the air from another person.

“As ZIMA, we still raise concern because the pandemic itself is an evolving pandemic. We are continuously getting new data and the public should be ready for new recommendations and changes of things as new data is released. We recommend that the public must continue to exercise caution whenever they are out, put on their masks,” said Dr Chirisa.

Dr Chirisa called for the correct and safer use of face masks by the public after noting that many people were not practising the right etiquette.

“One of the things we have noticed is that people are recycling masks, even washable ones without washing them. We want them to be washed and ironed so that they are ready for reuse the following day. If you don’t do that, that mask can actually end up being a time bomb, or carrier of the virus itself,” he said.

Dr Chirisa said people must not assume that the downgrading of the lockdown meant that they were no longer in danger of contracting Covid-19.

“People must continue with the general hygiene; the handwashing and hand sanitising and social distancing. Avoid unnecessary travelling. The downgrading of the lockdown does not mean that the covid threat is over, we are at a place where we need to continue being cautious until we have a more absolute solution to the issue,” said Dr Chirisa.

Mpilo Central Hospital clinical director and acing chief executive officer, Dr Solwayo Ngwenya said the public must be aware of the dangers lurking in public spaces despite the level two lockdown announced.

“The virus is now spreading through local transmission which is a very dangerous stage of the virus. People who have no essential travel should stay at home, for their safety. We don’t want people just moving about for no reason, they must sit down,” said Dr Ngwenya.

Chronicle spoke to some Bulawayo residents yesterday who said they were suffering from lockdown fatigue and were relieved that some restrictions had been relaxed.

“We are happy to hear that from tomorrow we are allowed to move about. It has not been easy staying at home and I am a vendor and have been selling at the market for over six years so this Covid-19 situation hit me hard,” said Ms Florence Sibanda from Kingsdale suburb.

Another resident, Mr Thabani Phuthi said he was a painter and had been eagerly waiting for the restrictions to be eased so that he could do jobs to fend for his family.

“I am a painter and many companies where there were upcoming jobs either cancelled or postponed because of the lockdown. So, things really got difficult. It is a relief that we will now be able to move about and am hoping the companies that had contracted us will call us for the painting job,” said Mr Phuthi.

Mr Fortune Ncube of Southwold suburb said he hoped that police would conduct themselves in line with the new level two rules as he felt he needed to move about without fear of arrest and detention.

“We read that there will no longer be need to walk around with exemption letters so we hope police will not be demanding them from us in the streets. We do not want to spend afternoons detained at central police station just for trying to access the CBD,” said Mr Ncube. — @andile_tshuma