22 Mar 2020

Jwaneng town council on Thursdays convened an emergency special full council to brief councillors on the preparedness of the area amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Briefing the councillors, the chief medical officer from Debswana Jwaneng hospital, Dr Rachel Seleke said a decision had been made to designate Unit 5 clinic in Jwaneng as an isolation centre. 

She said this was on the basis that the clinic was already an admitting facility with a 12-bed capacity which could be pushed to fifteen if the need arose. She, however, said the clinic still needed minor maintenance such as showers and toilets as well as isolated entrances and exits for patients and the medical staff. 

“We have also made available two ambulances that will be used to evacuate patients, and we have already trained staff such as cleaners, ambulance drivers and all those that will be involved in the evacuation process on how to handle suspects and patients,” she said. 

Dr Seleke also said that designating the clinic as an isolation centre, meant that they had to move other services such as maternity to the mine hospital, and cautioned people to desist from coming to health facilities even for minor ailments as this would put a strain on them. 

“People should be encouraged to come to health facilities only when it is really necessary,” she said. 

For her part, the District Health Management Team regional coordinator, Ms Josephine Mosimanewakgosi said that the designation of Unit 5 clinic as an isolation centre would drastically affect the smooth provision of health services in the area as it was the only 24 hours clinic for many villages around Jwaneng. 

Ms Mosimanewakgosi also said that the suggestion by councillors to request truck drivers that ply the trans-Kalahari highway passing through Jwaneng not to make a sleepover in town was not easy as it was discriminatory. 

“What we can only do is disseminate information on prevention,” she said. She also said sample testing for the virus was only done in Gaborone, which reduced the turn-around time for results. 

She, however, said that arrangements were advanced for the national health laboratory to upload results in the system so that each facility could download theirs, a move that she said would ensure that results were available within 24 hours. 

In her welcome remarks, Jwaneng township mayor, Ms Olga Ditsie emphasised that unity and was important in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

She said the fact that there was currently no known case in the country should not lull people into complacency. 

In their comments, councillors had some reservations on the turn-around time for results of suspected cases and said it brought uncertainty. 

They also advised that all the health personnel that was involved in dealing with suspected cases and patients should be provided with counselling as they were human. 

They also advised on the need to procure anything necessary, and that the usual procurement bureaucracy needed to be cut. 

The councillors also appreciated the briefing, saying that they would be able to respond to enquiries from their electorates on the preparedness of the area. 

Jwaneng deputy district commissioner, Mr Lesang Kgomoetsile indicated that they recently formed a district health response team, which had been tasked with spearheading the preparedness strategy for the area, including distribution of equipment and personnel. Ends