Zimbabwe revises coronavirus cases downwards after ‘miscount’

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Zimbabwe on Friday revised downwards its number of coronavirus cases to 28, saying a positive case had been counted twice.

Zimbabwe on Friday revised downwards its number of coronavirus cases to 28, saying a positive case had been counted twice.

By Blessed Mhlanga

The Health and Child Care ministry had earlier reported that the country’s coronavirus or Covid-19 cases had risen to 29 from the previous day’s total after a patient tested positive in the second city of Bulawayo.

“The ministry would like to report that of the 101 PCR tests done in Bulawayo, which had pending results on April 22, one was not for a new case but from a retest of a case that had been reported previously,” reads the statement.

“This reduces the cases of Bulawayo from 11 to 10 and nationally from 29 to 28 since the Covid 19 outbreak.”

It has also been noted that the government’s figures for tests are also not accurate.

On Monday, the government said it had conducted 3 308 tests, the following day it said 841 tests were conducted.

Cumulatively, that means 4 149 tests were conducted, but government records said 4 159 tests were done.

When asked about this, a government official said it was probably a typographical error, which was going to be corrected.

However, that error remains uncorrected.

Efforts to get an explanation from officials have so far drawn a blank.

Zimbabwe recorded its first coronavirus case on March 20 after a Victoria Falls resident, who had travelled to the United Kingdom tested positive.

The country has since recorded four fatalities, with the latest case being the mother of a former minister Sylvester Nguni.

Nguni’s mother had no history of travel and her family said she had been confined to her Mhondoro rural home since the country went into a lockdown on March 30.

Two people have since recovered from the flu-like disease that was first detected in China late last year.

Last weekend, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced the extension of the lockdown, which was due to end on April 19, extending it to May 3.

Zimbabwe like South Africa is most probably going to gradually reopen the economy.

The government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak has been routinely criticised, with authorities being accused of not doing enough to combat the spread of the disease that has killed more than 192 000 people across the globe, while 2,8 million infections have been confirmed.

So far, there is no cure for the disease, while a vaccine has proved elusive.

Estimates say at the earliest, a vaccine will only be ready in 12 to 18 months.