Africa Press-Nigeria:
SOME nurses at Kwekwe General Hospital were Monday made to feel the impact of a government decreed national lockdown when they failed to secure Zupco transport back home after knocking off from work.
Mbizo MP, Settlement Chikwinya told NewZimbabwe.com he received calls nurses were left stranded after they knocked off duty to find there were no Zupco buses to ferry them home.
“I received calls from Kwekwe General Hospital that staff that had knocked off at 7pm was stranded as there was no transport for it to various suburbs,” Chikwinya said.
The country’s health sector is among the designated critical services exempted from observing the 21-day lockdown by government in attempts to disrupt the spread of Covid-19.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced Friday Zupco buses would be the only public transport allowed to operate during the period.
Chikwinya called on government to put in place a holistic transport system to cater for the country’s most critical staff.
“I understand some of the nurses had to walk to their areas, some managed to hire private vehicles and that must not be the case for people who are providing an essential service.
“Government must put in place measures that will ensure that people who are providing an essential service are not inconvenienced,” he said.
Meanwhile, the MDC legislator has said authorities in the Midlands city were not fully prepared to handle the novel coronavirus which has seen eight confirmed cases and one death in the country.
“Authorities in Kwekwe and the rest of the country are not prepared to tackle the virus since our health system collapsed a long time ago.
“As we speak, there is no adequate protective clothing for health personnel as well as the necessary equipment such as ventilators.
“We do not have accurate testing kits as a country let alone adequate supply of the same. We are surviving by God’s grace,” he said.
