Thelma Wandayi
GWERU – The provincial isolation center for Midlands province is set to open doors tomorrow CommuTalk has learnt.
The facility which will be housed at Gweru Provincial Hospital was at some time open to sarcasm after the Ministry of Information Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana posted a tent at the facility as the Provinces’ isolation center which on the other hand did not tally the R10 million that had been donated by Unki Mine towards establishment of the facility.
Briefing Minister of Finance during a Zanu PF Provincial coordinating meeting meeting held at the party’s Winery Headquarters in Gweru over the weekend, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Senator Larry Mavhima said the facility will be one of the best in the country.
“We converted one ward to be a high care center for COVID-19 patients. The facility is opening doors on Thursday 20 August and Vice President Khembo Mohadi will officiate.
“The facility has state of the art equipment consisting of 15 ICU beds, 18 HDU, 10 ventilators and a maternal theatre to assist those who might be assisted in the facility while pregnant,” Mavhima said.
The recent announcement however shows an increase in the facility’s capacity from the initial announcement that it would have 10 beds for the Intensive Care Unit, 24 beds in the normal wards while the maternal theatre and number of ventilators remain unchanged.
The Minister said government also channeled ZWD4 million in the facility’s upgrade.
The facility will also be an addition to the 30 beds that have been currently under use at the Gweru Infectious Diseases Hospital.
“To date, the Province has six functional isolation centers and a total of 88 beds within the facilities. Government is adding to those five more isolation centers and are currently under renovation and these include Bell Medical Centre in Redcliff, Shurugwi Hospital, Gokwe South, Kwewe Hospital and Lundi Clinic,” Senator Mavhima added.
Government has also given approximately ZWD5 million to capacitate quarantine centers dotted around the Province highlighted the Minister.
Nothing was said however about ZWD11 million that had been deposited into the province’s Ministry of Local Governance CBZ account as at 24 July 2020 following the Province’s state led plea to cooperates to donate towards the fight against COVID-19.
Latest updates on COVID-19 however shows that Midlands Province had conducted a total of 5 852 tests. 3 259 were RDT while 2 593 were PCR tests. A total of 458 people had tested positive to the virus and distribution is as follows; Gweru (202 cases), Zvishavane (128 cases), Shurugwi (36 cases), Kwekwe (33 cases), Gokwe South (21 cases), Mberengwa (11 cases), Gokwe North and Chirumhanzu both recording seven cases.
13 of the recorded cases were transfers while 349 recoveries brought a smile towards achievements in fighting the pandemic.
The Province has to date also recorded six deaths and one absconder who evaded quarantine.
