COVID-19 Not Over Yet, Beware

Although the lockdown might be slightly over, COVID-19 is still with us. Graphic by The Citizen Bulletin

BY DIVINE DUBE | @Village_Scribe | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAR 5, 2021

Our primary job at The Citizen Bulletin is to keep you informed about what’s happening in your community. When everyone’s health is on the line, our mission has an added weight.

BULAWAYO (The Citizen Bulletin) — When President Mnangagwa announced on the 1st of March the relaxed COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, including that citizens would no longer require clearance letters to travel, a majority of Zimbabweans broke into jubilation. They thought they could now return to their everyday lives — which they abandoned almost a year ago when the country declared its first lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus.  

The lockdown might be slightly over, but the virus is not gone; it is still with us. As such, the government should not go soft on the fight against the virus until the pandemic has receded and when the country has reached herd immunity. In recent times, we have seen many pictures and videos in which it is clear that many people have stopped taking health precautions to contain the virus.  If you are careless, walking out without a mask, you risk yourself, your family, your children and vulnerable community members.

The pandemic, as we know, has upended many parts of our lives and has even shut down some essential services that we need to live normally. In this bulletin, we shine a light on how lockdown restrictions have halted children’s vaccination programs in some parts of Matabeleland. Children, just like all of us, deserve access to quality health. We thus urge local health authorities to ensure that all children who missed their regular vaccinations are inoculated urgently in line with government protocols to contain the pandemic.

In Hwange, communities live in fear of landmine explosions several decades after the liberation war ended. A recent casualty wherein a child had her leg amputated after a detonator exploded on her while playing has worsened the community’s fears. According to the landmine statistics monitor of 2012, landmine clearing operations began in 1982, but progress has been slow due to lack of funding. We implore central government authorities to take this issue seriously and expedite the process of clearing landmines in affected communities to save lives that might be lost needlessly.

We are dismayed that despite the central government’s commitment to ensure that blood is given to those who need it at no cost; some public hospitals sell it at prohibitive prices. In one of our stories in this bulletin, we surface challenges faced by patients forced to buy blood in hospitals such as Mpilo, yet it is donated for free by other citizens. We urge authorities to investigate this matter and reign on public health officials selling the precious commodity. Six years ago, the government declared blood a free product, and as such, it should guard against errant institutions that violate the policy and the pledge of citizens who donate their blood in service to those who need it the most.

On the 18th of February, the country launched the first phase of its COVID-19 vaccination program, yet in most parts of rural Matabeleland, skepticism around the vaccine is widespread. While we know that misinformation around vaccines is not only peculiar to Zimbabwe, we believe central government authorities could quickly neutralize fake news and build community trust around the vaccine program through actively disseminating credible information, a role they have failed to discharge dismally. Unless vaccine sensitization programs are launched, especially in underserved rural communities who live in news deserts, it will be challenging to vaccinate 60 percent of the country’s population and reach herd immunity.

In a time like this, the importance of local reporting can’t be overstated. We know you rely on The Citizen Bulletin for this type of public-service journalism, whether it relates to public health, economic and social justice, education and local government—our primary thematic focus, or other pressing issues that affect you and the wellbeing of your communities. We are glad to provide this critical service, but we can’t do it without your support.

ALSO READ: Grade 7 Exam Results: An Uproar, Then a Rude Awakening for Matabeleland

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