Zimbabwe’s Minister of Health and Child Care, Obadiah Moyo, said that the government’s effort to carry out malaria treatment has been hampered by the emergence COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Moyo claimed that all resources and efforts meant for tackling malaria are being channelled to fighting the deadly coronavirus.
Speaking during the weekly Cabinet media briefing on Tuesday where he confirmed malaria deaths in Zimbabwe had reached 152 in less than two months, Moyo said:
Malaria outbreak is for real and this is its peak season in Zimbabwe. The burden of testing has been hampered by COVID-19. Our teams that normally go out to test right now are experiencing slowing down of the process.
This is an issue we are tackling because this is the season where most people get infected and a rise in cases of deaths is also high.
Zimbabwe has recorded 28 confirmed cases of COVID-19 including three deaths and two recoveries.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned Zimbabwe against focusing on COVID-19 at the expense of malaria prevention.