Tag: Dr Grant Murewanehma

Zimbabwe Doctor Uses Social Media To Dispel Vaccine Fears

Michael Gwarisa

A local medical doctor, epidemiologist and Public Health experts, Dr Grant Murewanehma has taken it upon himself to use his social media presence to raise awareness around the ongoing COVID-19 national vaccination drive in a bid to dispel myths and conspiracies around the vaccine. By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe received its first consignment of 200 000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine a fortnight ago and according to the Zimbabwean government, the first phase of the vaccination program is targeting frontline workers such as health care workers, educators, customs and clearance personnel,…

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#TalkingCOVIDWithDr Grant: Covid-19 And Well-Being

Dr Grant Murewanhema
Dr Grant Murewanhema

THE month of January has been particularly challenging for Zimbabwe as far as the COVID-19 pandemic is concerned. We reported the highest number of cases as well as the highest number of fatalities since March 2020 when the pandemic hit the country. News of high-profile people including cabinet ministers, church bishops, medical professional and many other succumbing to the disease sent waves of fear and desperation across the population. By Dr Grant Murewanhema Zimbabwe is a peculiar country where access to quality medical care is a luxury to many. We…

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Now More Than Ever, We Need To Be Disciplined To Cut The Chain Of Community Transmissions

Dr Grant Murewanhema

A few weeks before Christmas I wrote an article: COVID-19 and the festive season: a time to guard against complacency; I also wrote about the need to effectively control human traffic movement into the country. Nevertheless; its now water under the bridge; we are used to reactive not proactive approaches. By Dr Grant Murewanhema At the moment we have widespread COVID-19 community transmission in Zimbabwe. We have not typed the virus, so we don’t know which strains are circulating, but anecdotally, we have a more virulent strain with a higher…

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COVID-19 And The Festive Season: Time To Guard Against Complacency

Dr Grant Murewanhema
Dr Grant Murewanhema

2020 has been a particularly strange year; one that many would quickly want to rub out of their memories. Many lost their loved ones from COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related causes; many were separated from their loved ones for months due to international travel restrictions and national lockdowns, and there are many who lost their jobs as economic recessions took their toll on businesses. Schools and colleges have been closed for months, with some now resorting to virtual teaching; some even lost their opportunity for graduations after many years of sweating…

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Time To Rethink Our Behaviour And Make A Few Sacrifices To Break The COVID-19 Transmission Chain In Zim

Dr Grant Murewanhema

FATIGUE leading to complacency in epidemics and pandemics is well described. Humans are social beings and created with an intrinsic desire to mingle, interact and work. However, certain times really call for an audit of our  actions and behaviour. By Dr Grant Murewanhema Global statistics indicate that SARS-CoV-2 is now spreading like veldfire in some continents. Over 4 million people were confirmed to be SARS-CoV-2 positive in the week ending 29 November 2020, and in the same week over 69 000 fatalities were reported. It is extremely naive to think…

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#TalkingCOVIDWithDrGrant: COVID-19 Cases Drop, But Is It The End Of The Outbreak In Zimbabwe?

Dr Grant Murewanhema
Dr Grant Murewanhema

ZIMBABWE reported the first cases of COVID-19 in March 2020, and unfortunately a fatality was reported early then, which saw many in the country getting scared. Projections from elsewhere had predicted an exponential, uncontrollable spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Sub-Saharan Africa, which would see the continent being overwhelmed with cases and deaths. Fortunately, several months into the pandemic, most of Africa has done well, witnessing an impressive picture where most infected individuals at worst developed mild symptoms, otherwise in most cases they remained asymptomatic. By Dr Grant Murewanhema The course of…

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#TalkingCOVID19WithDrGrant: Complacency Will Be Our Biggest Enemy In The Fight Against Covid-19

Dr Grant Murewanhema
Dr Grant Murewanhema

FOR almost nine months now, Zimbabwe has been battling the COVID-19 outbreak, which unfortunately has brought unprecedented changes to our way of life. As a country, Zimbabwe has by and large been spared of major epidemics in the past, and the COVID-19 pandemic presents the first real challenge to the country. By Dr Grant Murewanhema The previous SARS and MERS outbreaks relatively spared most of Africa, Zimbabwe included, and the Ebola Viral Disease outbreaks of West Africa also spared Southern Africa. Not surprisingly, the idea of quarantine, isolation and lockdowns…

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As We Battle The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lets Not Forget The Avoidable Non-Covid Causes Of Morbidity And Mortality

Dr Grant Murewanhema
Dr Grant Murewanhema

ITS now six months since Zimbabwe reported its first case of COVID-19. The cases have exceeded 5000, with 130 officially confirmed deaths. The trajectory of the pandemic in the country so far has been better than what is being experienced in South Africa, which has since surpassed  the 500 000 mark with over 10 000 fatalities. Fear and anxiety have been high in Zimbabwe, especially given the dilapidated state of the public health system, the perennial industrial actions by healthcare workers over deplorable salaries, the obsolete equipment in most hospitals,…

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#TalkingCOVI-19WithDrGrant: From 550 To 3500 cases In 1 Month: What’s next?

Michael Gwarisa
Dr Grant Murewanhema

THE first case of COVID-19 was reported in Zimbabwe on 20 March 2020, and it took almost 4 months to get to 500 cases. There was widespread hope that we could contain the spread. For that entire period, the majority of cases were confirmed among returning residents from South Africa, and were diagnosed at points of entry and quarantine centres. However, the past month (July) has seen an uprecedented rise in cases, with over 2000 new cases diagnosed, and 490 cases diagnosed in the past 24 hours. By Dr Grant…

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#TalkingCOVID-19WithDrGant: Zimbabweans, We Must Take The COVID-19 Pandemic Seriously, And Stop Looking For Reasons To Justify Complacency!

Dr Grant Murewanhema
Dr Grant Murewanhema

THE COVID-19 pandemic is  hitting hard on Zimbabwe, and growing very fast. All ten provinces in the country are reporting cases, and local transmission far outweighs imported disease. Community transmission implies many cases in society whose epidemiological origins are difficult to trace, with multiple unrelated clusters. By Dr Grant Murewanhema Human behavior is critical in controlling the epidemic. I find it unacceptable that there are still some individuals who justify complacency and lack of responsibility on their part. Its a known fact that Zimbabwe has resource limitations, and has limited…

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