The Zimbabwean government has taken five days to release information on the 11th COVID-19 patient that died on the 4th of April 2020.
According to an update from the Ministry of Health, the deceased’s case was among one of the 21 tests done today.
“The eleventh case was a 79-year-old-male resident of Bulawayo who initially presented to a General Practioner on the 23rd of March 2020 with a history of cough, sore throat and fever. When he did not improve on oral antibiotic treatment, he presented to a local hospital on Thursday 2 April 2020, where he was admitted.” the update says.
“At the time of admission, he had presented with cough, difficulty in breathing, sore throat and fever but no reported history of travel outside Zimbabwe. He, however, indicated that he had been to a tourist resort in Hwange from the 14th to 16th March 2020. He was therefore admitted for clinical management as a case of bacterial Pneumonia with an underlying comorbidity.”
The latest developments old the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights to question the country’s preparedness with results taking five days to be produced and also said lack of clarity raises a lot of questions.
“ZADHR believed this case and the continued demise of severe cases ofCOVID-19 patients mirrors the utter lack of preparedness of the health system,” the association says.
“It also reflects the minimal focus on other regions outside Harare.”
“Lastly, the Minister of Health and Child Care must be made to account on what he referred to when he claimed the country was prepared for COVID-19 when such regional inequalities and pervasive logistical issues characterise our response to date.”
Although there is no clarity on whether the deceased died of COVID-19, the Ministry says the patient was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after his condition continued to deteriorate.
“The local COVID-19 Rapid Response Team was called in and samples were collected and sent to the NMRL for COVID-19 testing.”
“Whilst waiting for the COVID-19 test results, the patient continued to receive intravenous antibiotics and additionally, he received medical treatment as a clinical case of COVID-19 testing.”
