Pretoria - A Zimbabwean woman who had been quarantined at Wilkins Hospital’s specialised unit in Harare for a suspected case of coronavirus (COVID-19), tested negative of the deadly disease, the Herald newspaper reported on Thursday.
“I can safely confirm that the Zimbabwean traveller was identified through our surveillance system at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport having noted that she had been to the epicentre of this coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan,” the Herald newspaper quoted health and child care minister Obadiah Moyo as saying.
“In order to protect our nation, the candidate had to be isolated immediately. To me, this shows that our system is working well and is a sign of good preparedness.”
Moyo added that tests showed the country’s laboratory testing for COVID-19 was fully functional.
“Our scientists managed to test the traveller and confirmed her to be negative for COVID-19 like what the authorities in China had also confirmed,” he said.
“So, we can still guarantee the nation that there is no Coronavirus in Zimbabwe. We will, however, as per protocol, continue to monitor this candidate for the 21-day prescribed period."
He said Zimbabwean health authorities were following a scientific approach requiring all travellers from China to be screened and quarantined for 14 days in China, after which, if found to be safe, they would be issued with a clearance certificate to travel.
“When they come to Zimbabwe, they will still be subjected to a further 21-day self-quarantine," the health minister said.
International news network CNN reported on Thursday that weeks into the novel coronavirus crisis, the outbreak finally appeared to be stabilising in central China, where the virus was initially detected in December before spreading throughout the country and other parts of the world.
The global death toll now stands at 2 128 after an additional 108 deaths were reported in Hubei province. All but 10 deaths have occurred in mainland China.
An additional 349 cases were confirmed in Hubei, more than 1,300 fewer than reported the day before. Outside the provincial capital Wuhan, the daily count of patients who have been treated and discharged has exceeded the number of newly confirmed cases for four consecutive days now, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.