25 Oct 2020

 The increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in the country burdens health and wellness services, Director of Health Services, Dr Malebogo Kebabonye has said.

Giving an update on COVID-19 on October 22, Dr Kebabonye noted that in a period of five days from October 17, 314 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded, saying the alarming numbers were worrisome.

From 314 recorded cases, she said 304 were local transmissions while 10 cases were recorded at border posts, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the country to 4578, with 178 144 tests conducted and over 100 000 tests done at the borders.

COVID-19 death toll still stands at 21, she stated.

As for active cases she noted that the numbers stood at 3630, while recovered cases stood at 927.

Dr kebabonye said their observation indicated that Gaborone continued to be the epicenter of the pandemic, saying nine out of 10 recorded positive cases emanated from Gaborone and neighbouring villages such as Mogoditshane and Tlokweng.

Furthermore, she said they had observed some sporadic outbreaks that were due to importation of disease from outside Gaborone in areas like Letlhakane,Palapye and Francistown.

Dr kebabonye urged the nation to continue to adhering to measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus, saying if people could continue washing their hands consistently, practice social distance and wear masks as prescribed, the virus would not be spreading as it was the case at the moment.

She said failure to control the spread of the virus, would affect the ministry as they did not have enough resources.

For her part, Gaborone DHMT leader, Dr Pamela Smith-Lawrence said to augment testing centres after realising that most people had flue like symptoms, they had opened flu clinics at six areas in Gaborone and surrounding areas.

She also said they had also began conducting routine testing of frontline workers who were exposed to the virus to ensure their safety.

Dr Smith-Lawrence added that they had also introduced testing of patients both at government and private hospitals before they could be given any assistance.

She advised those who tested positive to act responsibly and avoid interacting with other people to contain the spread of the virus.

In addition, she said they had been on a recruitment drive to engage retired nurses and volunteers to assist health workers at centres across the country in the fight against COVID-19.

Dr Smith-Lawrence implored the private sector to come on board to help in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. Ends