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Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
Kwekwe City Council is now speeding up the transformation of a beerhall into an infectious diseases hospital and Covid-19 isolation centre.

The local authority is in the process of converting a council bar, Garandichauya Beerhall into an infectious disease hospital which will also serve as a Covid-19 isolation centre.

The only isolation centre which was operational, Mbizo 16 Clinic, was condemned for being easily accessed by the public, lack of proper ablution facilities amongst others, leaving the district without any isolation centre.

Kwekwe General Hospital male ward is also under renovation.

In a press statement, Kwekwe Mayor Angeline Kasipo said the city has recorded some notable increases in both the number of cases and deaths due to Covid-19.

As at morning 20 January 2021, Kwekwe City had a cumulative total of 179 cases, 60 recoveries and 16 deaths.

“What this means is that we need to have every member of the Kwekwe community doing everything they can to mitigate the negative impact of this pandemic on our lives,” said Mayor Kasipo.

The mayor said the local authority, working hand in hand with Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officials, has been clamping down on shebeens and other illegal drinking spots dotted around the city.

“Now that we are faced with a more vicious pandemic, we need to up our game in terms of the steps we take as Kwekwe community to contain it. We need not to reinvent the wheel, we know what works in order to beat this virus and this can never be overemphasised,” said Mayor Kasipo.

She said refurbishment of Garandichauya Bar into an infectious disease hospital was now being speeded up.

“The refurbishment of Garandichauya Bar to an infectious disease hospital is now almost 95 percent complete. We are now speeding up its completion so that we get an isolation centre,” she said.

She urged Kwekwe community to adhere to lockdown restrictions.

“Over the last months we have seen a laxity by residents and the business community in complying with laid down prevention regulations and lockdown restrictions. It is evident that our people in Kwekwe are in need of yet another reminder of what needs to be done in order to beat this virus,” she said.