Harare, Zimbabwe – On January 20, Zimbabweans were shocked to hear the news of the death of Foreign Affairs Minister Sibusiso Moyo, the latest government official to succumb to COVID-19.
The 61-year-old, who rose to fame after appearing on state television on November 15, 2017, to announce the military coup that overthrew longtime President Robert Mugabe, died at a private hospital in the capital, Harare, days after testing positive for coronavirus.
Moyo was the third cabinet minister to have died of COVID-19 in recent weeks amid a major surge in the pandemic (Transport Minister Joel Biggie Matiza and Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Ellen Gwaradzimba were the other two) and the fourth in total (Agriculture Minister Perrance Shiri passed away in July).
MASK UP, STAY AT HOME
The government says it is doing the best it can with limited resources in an economy that has been in recession since 2019.
Agnes Mahomva, the national COVID-19 taskforce coordinator, told Reuters that Zimbabwe was equipped to handle the second wave and that the government was emphasising prevention after tightening lockdown rules earlier this month. We expected this surge because people had relaxed. Our hospitals are adequately prepared to handle patients but we continue to say mask up and stay at home . It is the best way to beat COVID-19, Mahomva said.
The country of 15 million people has 84 working ventilators in public hospitals, and 1,049 beds designated for COVID-19 patients in private and public institutions, according to ministry of health data.
Pallbearers stand next to coffins of three top government officials at their burial at the National Heroes acre in Harare, Wednesday, Jan, 27, 2021. Zimbabwe on Wednesday buried three top officials who succumbed to COVID-19, in a single ceremony at a shrine reserved almost exclusively for the ruling elite as a virulent second wave of the coronavirus takes a devastating toll on the country.( AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
HARARE (Reuters) – When Zimbabwe’s rich and powerful get sick, they often go abroad in search of the best treatment money can buy; ousted President Robert Mugabe died in a hospital in Singapore in 2019.
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HARARE (Reuters) - When Zimbabwe’s rich and powerful get sick, they often go abroad in search of the best treatment money can buy; ousted President Robert Mugabe died in a hospital in Singapore in 2019.
With travel curtailed by the coronavirus, that luxury is not available, exposing the elite to a truth the majority has long known: Zimbabwe’s health system has been crumbling for years and is now struggling to cope with a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Anger among overwhelmed medics is adding to broader public dissatisfaction with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who pledged an economic revival after he took over from Mugabe following a coup in 2017.
Published Friday, January 29, 2021 9:12AM EST HARARE, Jan 29 (Reuters) When Zimbabwe s rich and powerful get sick, they often go abroad in search of the best treatment money can buy; ousted President Robert Mugabe died in a hospital in Singapore in 2019. With travel curtailed by the coronavirus, that luxury is not available, exposing the elite to a truth the majority has long known:Zimbabwe s health system has been crumbling for years and is now struggling to cope with a spike in COVID-19 cases. Anger among overwhelmed medics is adding to broader public dissatisfaction with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who pledged an economic revival after he took over from Mugabe following a coup in 2017.