About 10 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Zimbabwe are frontline health care workers, with the total number reaching around 480.
The affected frontline medical workers include nurses, student nurses, doctors, laboratory scientists, nurse aides, general hands and pharmacists.
According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s latest COVID-19 Zimbabwe Situation Report released on Monday, Harare and Bulawayo have reported the highest number of infections among frontline workers.
“A significant number of health workers have been infected with COVID-19 and as of July 29, 2020, more than 10 percent of the cases were among health-care workers with the majority being from the nursing profession,” the report said.
More than 100 nurses at Mpilo Central and United Bulawayo Hospitals in Zimbabwe’s second largest city have contracted the virus, forcing them into quarantine.
In the capital Harare, more than 70 medical workers at Parirenyatwa hospital, the country’s largest referral hospital had tested positive for the virus since the beginning of July.
Zimbabwe has been recording a surge in COVID-19 cases over the past weeks with an increase witnessed in local transmissions.
As of Sunday evening, the country had confirmed 4,649 cases of COVID-19, including 104 deaths and 1,437 recoveries.
