22 Apr 2020

Members of the Ngamiland Emergency Operation Centre have underscored the need to come up with appropriate ways to ensure mentally ill persons who roam the streets are also protected from disease outbreaks.

They revealed that there was no need to keep them in quarantines during the COVID-19 pandemic as they needed to be integrated into the society and be given appropriate care to protect them from harsh environmental factors even beyond the pandemic.

Dr Malebogo Kebabonye from the District Health Management Team (DHMT) noted that keeping them in quarantines was not the best solution as they needed appropriate care.

She revealed that they had a challenge of mental health people even before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic but stated that they have engaged their caregivers to see how best they could assist and protect them even beyond COVID-19.

North West District Council (NWDC) secretary, Mr Motlogelwa Thuso concurred that mentally ill patients needed to be integrated into the society so that they live a normal life.

He stated that they had received cases of some being homeless and managed to provide them with temporary shelter and food.

Some, he said, had been assisted with tents at one of the Village Development Committee (VDC) plot and were being cared for.  Mr Thuso also noted that such people needed counselling.

Recently, Maun based organization, Women Against Rape (WAR) urged the government to consider putting all people who have mental health conditions in quarantines in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

WAR executive director, Ms Peggy Ramaphane said such people were at high risk of spreading or contracting the virus as they moved from place to place despite government efforts to encourage the people to stay at home.

She revealed that there were many mentally unstable persons in Maun and failure to assist them would undermine the government efforts of controlling the risk of spreading the virus. Ends