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Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Correspondent
CABINET has said Government will sign an agreement with Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo to admit critical Covid-19 patients for free, a move that will improve the province’s ability to deal with the pandemic.

It said the rate of increase in Covid-19 cases is worrying as cases have risen by 65,6 percent in the previous week.

Cabinet said stiff penalties for failure to wear masks in public were on the cards as part of measures to reduce the rapid spread of the virus.

In her briefing yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Senator Monica Mutsvangwa said Mater Dei hospital recently equipped an 18-bed intensive care facility for Covid-19 patients in need of critical care.

“Government wishes to inform the nation that most of the Covid-19 cases are asymptomatic and can be isolated at home or in isolation facilities. On a related matter, Mater Dei Hospital, a private institution in Bulawayo, has developed and equipped an 18-bed Covid-19 critical care facility. The Ministry of Health and Child Care will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Mater Dei Hospital so that critically ill Covid-19 positive cases from the public sector can be admitted and treated at no cost to the patient,” said the Minister.

“The cumulative number of confirmed cases has risen by 65,6% in the past week from 1 034 to 1 713, while the cumulative number of confirmed local cases has risen by 204,9 % from 286 to 872.

“Most of the local cases are in Bulawayo (490) and Harare (212). Preventative and control measures against Covid-19 will be intensified in order to avoid overwhelming the health delivery system through the mandatory and correct donning of masks. Government will be seeking to impose stiffer penalties for the non-wearing of masks.”

Minister Mutsvangwa said Cabinet was also updated on the Gastrointestinal disease outbreak in Bulawayo’s Luveve suburb where a total of 1 900 cases had been attended to at health facilities, with 13 people reported to have lost their lives.

“Cabinet noted that there were a number of interventions meant to contain the gastrointestinal disease outbreak and these include community awareness programmes, engagement of local leadership and community structures to help sensitise communities, waiving of water shedding in the affected areas, conducting door to door surveys to actively identify diarrhoeal cases and systematic sampling of diarrhoeal cases and testing them for Covid-19,” said Minster Mutsvangwa.

She said cabinet had also received a briefing on President Mnangagwa’s tour of nine coal and coking coal projects in Hwange to assess progress being made in the implementation of the Coal and Hydrocarbons Development Plan last week.

Minister Mutsvangwa said Cabinet appreciates the significant progress recorded to date, noting that the projects represent the successes being achieved under the ongoing economic reform programme. She said the projects show that Zimbabwe is on course to attain its goal of being a net exporter of energy by 2023 and to be fuel self-sufficient by 2030 through development of energy minerals. — @andile_tshuma