Zimbabwean doctors have urged authorities to make it mandatory for citizens to wear face masks in public places in the fight against COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
The Senior Hospital Doctors Association (SHDA) said the country’s growing number of confirmed coronavirus cases is worrisome and calls for an aggressive response. SHDA president Shingai Nyaguse said:
With community transmission underway, on a balance of probabilities, it is worthwhile to make face masks use mandatory in public places.
We need to up our game in the COVID-19 fight.
Chitungwiza Residents Trust (Chitrest) president Alice Kuvheya queried why the government is not giving residents face masks when research has shown that they mitigate the spread of the virus. She said:
If the use of a face mask can mitigate the spread of coronavirus, why is the government not giving it to residents? Are they waiting until someone is infected?
As residents, we are worried, we thought by now, things like masks and sanitisers should be available to everyone?