Government has declared the cholera outbreak in Harare a state of emergency as numbers of people dying or falling sick from the bacterial infection rise. By mid-morning yesterday, 20 people had been confirmed dead from the latest cholera outbreak.
Over 2 300 suspected cases have been recorded in Harare alone.
Isolated cases have also been reported in Masvingo, Manicaland, Midlands and Mashonaland Central provinces, all traced back to Harare as the epicentre.
Addressing journalists after visiting Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospital, one of the treatment camp sites in Harare, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said declaring the outbreak an emergency allowed the State to quickly mobilise resources to contain the disease, adding that Harare was the source of all cases reported countrywide.
“We are declaring an emergency for Harare. This will enable us to contain cholera and typhoid in the city as quickly as possible. We do not want further deaths, so if we do not create this disaster emergency situation, we will continue losing lives.”
Dr Moyo took a swipe at Harare City Council which he said had failed to attend to sewer bursts in Glen View for the past two months, resulting in the contamination of boreholes.
“Someone slept on duty and this is one of the problems we must tackle as Zimbabwe. People must work. This whole problem is a result of blocked sewers and these were reported, but were never repaired for at least two months. Now we have the whole of Glen View and Budiriro being affected,” said Dr Moyo.
He said while he would seek audience with Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo on a permanent solution to these recurrent challenges, they had agreed with Harare Mayor Herbert Gomba to immediately clear all sewer blockages.
