BY AMANDA NCUBE
GWANDA — Councillor Ntuthuko Ndebele used to sleep in his car and spent most of his day in the vehicle. This was his new lifestyle of self-isolation after testing positive for Covid-19.
There’s limited space in the house for him to have his own room.
Ndebele has had to put on hold his duties as a father figure and breadwinner and also duties of serving the community in order to ensure his full recovery and that he does not spread the pandemic. He had tested for Covid-19 at Phakama Clinic in Gwanda in November.
“When I received the news, I was really terrified and feared that my family might have also contracted the virus,” says Ndebele.
The only time he entered his house was when he used the ablution facility and immediately after he was done, his family disinfected the room. His family served him food in the car.
“Life had become difficult for me since I tested positive for coronavirus. I’m self- employed and I sustain my family through engaging in mining activities, but at that moment all was on hold as I couldn’t move around. As a councillor, there were a number of development initiatives that needed my attention, but I placed them on hold,” says Ndebele.
He was advised to visit Phakama Clinic after a fellow councillor had tested positive for Covid-19. Ndebele says after being given the results, medical staff advised him to self-isolate at home as there was limited space at the isolation centre and his condition was not severe.
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For the days that he was under self-isolation, medical staff from Phakama Clinic visited him on a daily basis to check on his condition.
“I wasn’t aware that I was positive as I wasn’t really ill. I was just experiencing a sore throat and painful muscles. I used home remedies to contain my situation such as steaming, drinking lemon water and eating garlic,” Ndebele adds.
“As soon as I received my results, my family also started taking these remedies as a precautionary measure although none of them were ill,” he says.
Gwanda town, just like most parts of the country, has recorded an increase in Covid-19 cases.
This has led to a shortage of isolation space as the town is relying on one isolation centre housed at the Gwanda Provincial Hospital which can only accommodate 16 people.
Gwanda Provincial Hospital acting medical superintendent Blessed Gwarimbo says they have resorted to discharging patients to self-isolate at home even though their conditions require them to be housed at the isolation centre. An isolation centre at Phakama Clinic which can accommodate 20 people is still incomplete.
“We first interview the patients to find out who they stay with and to establish whether their living conditions are conducive for them to self-isolate. Our surveillance team makes regular follow-ups on these people especially those who are symptomatic,” says Gwarimbo.
Most of the positive cases which have been recorded in the town are symptomatic which meant that they were highly contagious and likely to spread the virus.
Gwarimbo says due to resource challenges it is impossible for every Covid-19 patient to be accommodated at the isolation centre, but they also had to be responsible residents and ensure they adhere to guidelines and stay away from other people in order to avoid spreading the virus.
While medical staff at health facilities in Gwanda town are operating with adequate personal protective equipment, Gwarimbo is unsure how long it would last since cases continue to increase.
A nurse at Gwanda Provincial Hospital who preferred anonymity says it has now become terrifying to operate within an environment that has such an upsurge of Covid-19 cases. She says what is more terrifying is that no one knows how severe the condition will get.
“In Gwanda we have never handled so many cases of Covid-19. During the previous levels of the lockdown we were hearing that other towns and cities were recording high numbers of the pandemic, but, this time around we are also affected which is really scary. The truth is that we don’t have the capacity to handle many cases due to limited space and resources,” she said.
“The last time we had an upsurge of cases, though it wasn’t to this magnitude, medical staff at the hospital were affected and we hope this time around it won’t happen. We are on high alert as the staff.”
Officials have identified lack of compliance to Covid-19 regulations as one of the causes of this spike in cases. People have been urged to adhere to Covid-19 regulations to ensure their own safety.
l This article was originally published by The Citizen Bulletin, a hyperlocal news outlet covering Covid-19 in Matabeleland.
