The body of a 30-year-old woman who died of suspected Covid – 19 at Chiredzi Hospital last night is still not removed from the bed where she died because health workers are afraid to handle the corpse.
The woman (name supplied) was admitted from a private surgery with respiratory problems at 3pm yesterday and she passed on four hours later before Covid 19 tests could be carried out on her.
The case has shaken medical staff at the hospital who has not dealt with a Corona Virus case before.
“No one wants to touch the body. Everyone is extremely afraid and it is unusual for a body to remain on a ward bed for more than an hour. This is 9am and the body is still in there as I speak to you,” said a source at the hospital.
Hospital Superintendent Dr David Tarumbwa confirmed the case. He however, said he was still to trace the medical history of the patient with the private surgery where she went before she came to the hospital.
A nurse who spoke on condition of anonymity said there are many problems at the hospital and chief among them is that there are no protective clothing and health workers are afraid of getting infected. The other problem is that there is virtually no training for staff at the hospital on how to handle Corona Virus cases.
The District Medical Officer Dr Brian Dhladhlara also confirmed the case.
Zimbabwe records third coronavirus death
Zimbabwe recorded a 3rd COVID-19 death yesterday(Thursday). This was revealed in a press release published by the Ministry of Health and Child Care. According to the statement, the deceased is a 50-year-old man who travelled to the UK last month and presented mild symptoms on 1 April but his condition deteriorated yesterday(Tuesday) and he died at Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital on Weddnesday.
Part of the statement reads:
The Ministry however would like to report that the ninth patient deceased today under admission in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Wilkins Hospital. He was a 50 year-old male resident of Harare, who had travelled to the United Kingdom and returned home on the 21st of March 2020.
He started exhibiting mild symptoms and alerted the local COVID-19 Rapid Response Team on the 1st of April 2020, which went to assess him at home and collected samples for testing. He was diagnosed of COV1D-19 with an underlying comorbidity on the 2nd of April 2020 and initially, was being managed at home.
His condition however deteriorated and the local medical team immediately went to stabilise him.
On the 7th of April 2020, he was admitted for critical care and management in ICU at Wilkins Hospital under the care of a Specialist l’hysician. Today, the 8th of April 2020, his condition continued to deteriorate despite management in ICU until he deceased this evening.
