Medical personnel check temperatures of patients visiting Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on April 25, 2020. PHOTO | ZINYANGE AUNTONY | AFP
Zimbabwe’s health system is struggling to cope with a surge in Covid-19 cases with hospitals running out of beds for patients that need hospitalisation.
The southern African country has seen Covid-19 cases doubling to 17,194 in two months as of January 5.
On January 5, Zimbabwe registered the highest number of daily cases since the outbreak began in March last year at 1,365 new infections.
The 34 deaths were also by far the highest daily tally the country has recorded since the first death was reported in March 2020.
This week’s grim statistics have alarmed health experts and activists, who say Zimbabwe’s weak health system can no longer cope.
On Tuesday, Zimbabwe began a 30-day stricter lockdown, which President Emmerson Mnangagwa described as “the final push to defeat this virus for good.”