PRETORIA – Zimbabwe’s parliamentary portfolio committee on health has called for increased preventative measures at the country’s main Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport to detect and to stop Coronavirus (Covid-19) from seeping into the southern African nation, state media reported.
The Herald newspaper reported that the parliamentary portfolio committee toured the international airport in Harare, and part of its findings included that the response efforts by government departments manning the facility were disjointed.
During the tour of the airport, workers from Zimbabwe’s immigration department were reportedly not putting on face masks while officers from the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) were reported to be “wearing wrong masks”.
The parliamentary committee also toured the Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital, which it gave the thumbs up for preparedness to deal with suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19.
“Wilkins is definitely prepared, but the airport is still porous. More still needs to be done. I would place their (Robert Mugabe International Airport) preparedness at 60 percent,” the portfolio committee chairperson Dr Ruth Labode told The Herald.
Labode urged airlines to donate protective clothing, surveillance and monitoring equipment to enhance the airport’s level of preparedness.
No cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Zimbabwe to date, despite numerous claims on social media and several suspected cases.