A passenger passes the customs check point at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 11, 2020. Zimbabwe's main airport is "60 percent prepared" to deal with COVID-19 and more resources are required for training and procurement of essential protective equipment for critical staff, Ruth Labode, chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on health said Wednesday, after touring the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare to assess its preparedness to deal with the virus. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua)
HARARE, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's main airport is "60 percent prepared" to deal with COVID-19 and more resources are required for training and procurement of essential protective equipment for critical staff, a senior official said Wednesday.
Speaking after touring the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare to assess its preparedness to deal with the virus, Ruth Labode, chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on health, said the main airport needed to further strengthen its systems to be able to respond effectively to the virus.
Zimbabwe has not recorded any confirmed case of COVID-19 but has since activated its systems to monitor, screen, isolate and treat any possible cases of the virus.
The country has set up an isolation and treatment facility at Wilkins Hospital in Harare, with China pledging to upgrade the facility by providing funds and the necessary equipment to bring it in line with World Health Organization standards.
Labode said workers at the airport, including revenue authority, immigration, civil aviation and port health officials should heighten their sense of alertness and preparedness and ensure they wear protective face masks all the time.
This was after she noticed, during the tour, that some immigration and revenue authority officials were interfacing with foreign visitors, some from CIVID-19 affected countries, without wearing masks.
She said Wilkins Hospital, which they also toured earlier, is better prepared to deal with COVID-19.
"But at the airport (Harare), it's definitely porous. It's probably sitting at 60 percent in terms of preparedness. The people are conscious but they don't have the resources. They don't have the things they need to use. So I believe that there is a lot of work that we need to do at the airport," she said.
She said port health and immigration staff in particular needed more training on how to deal with COVID-19.
Labode challenged airlines that land at the airport to partner the Zimbabwe government by donating necessary equipment and materials to assist in the fight against the virus.
Head of Immigration at the airport Evans Siziba said the department had run out of face masks, which are imported, due to foreign currency shortages.
Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) acting general manager Margaret Mantiziba said the department was vigilant.
"We have activated our systems as the port health. Efforts we have stepped up include setting up a dedicated location facility at the airport for temporary holding of suspected cases before they are transferred to Wilkins Hospital.
"We have also activated our port health systems in terms of screening of travelers coming from different parts of the world," she said.
Staff wearing face masks work at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 11, 2020. Zimbabwe's main airport is "60 percent prepared" to deal with COVID-19 and more resources are required for training and procurement of essential protective equipment for critical staff, Ruth Labode, chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on health said Wednesday, after touring the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare to assess its preparedness to deal with the virus. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua)
Passengers go out of the arrival gate at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 11, 2020. Zimbabwe's main airport is "60 percent prepared" to deal with COVID-19 and more resources are required for training and procurement of essential protective equipment for critical staff, Ruth Labode, chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on health said Wednesday, after touring the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare to assess its preparedness to deal with the virus. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua)
Staff wearing face masks work at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 11, 2020. Zimbabwe's main airport is "60 percent prepared" to deal with COVID-19 and more resources are required for training and procurement of essential protective equipment for critical staff, Ruth Labode, chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on health said Wednesday, after touring the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare to assess its preparedness to deal with the virus. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua)
