10 May 2020

Members of the 17th Chinese medical team to Zimbabwe have given full play to their know-how to fight COVID-19 head-on in Zimbabwe.

Jiang Zhichao, head of the 17^th Chinese medical team to Zimbabwe, had imagined many possibilities of public heath issues when he arrived in the country last year. But he has never expected to confront anything like the novel coronavirus disease, which has led to more than 146 000 deaths worldwide.

In Zimbabwe, the number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 24 after a new case was recorded in Harare on Thursday, the country's Ministry of Health and Child Care said Friday morning. The tally included two recoveries and three deaths.

A Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner in a hospital in central China's Hunan Province, Jiang has been keen to promote and practice TCM overseas. Last year, he signed up for the medical team dispatched to Africa.

Zimbabweans, thousands of miles away, seemed unaffected by the COVID-19 outbreak in China in February and early March, when few people on the street wore masks, including doctors and nurses. It was not until March 20, when the authorities announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19, that the citizens began to realize the virus was hitting every corner of the world, including their country, Jiang said.

"The outbreak came as a big surprise to us, since we are planning to give full play to our know-how in the African country," said Jiang, who arrived in Zimbabwe along with nine other members in June.

The Zimbabwean government has taken a series of measures to contain the disease, including declaring a lockdown for 21 days on March 30. With the cases rising, the Zimbabwean government has also stepped up screening and diagnostic testing in all provinces.

As health professionals, the Chinese medical team members have prepared for rainy days in advance, Jiang said. In late January, the team leader started to record the temperature of the team members every day. Apart from going to and from the hospital where they work, the team members are required not to go out or participate in non-essential gatherings.

In order to help with a possible outbreak in Zimbabwe, Jiang said, the team received remote training on tackling COVID-19 provided by national and provincial health authorities in China, which has consolidated their knowledge and enhanced their prevention and control capability. Ends