Swaziland (eSwatini) has passed a grim milestone for
coronavirus deaths, with more than 50 confirmed fatalities.
Swazi Minister of Health Lizzie
Nkosi announced on Wednesday (5 August 2020) there had been 53 deaths so
far from coronavirus (COVID-19). Ten of those deaths were reported in the past
week.
The number of confirmed positive cases of coronavirus continues
to rise and has reached 2,909.
These numbers are those known to the Ministry of
Health and are almost certainly an underestimate in the small impoverished
kingdom where about 80 percent of people live in rural areas. The population of
Swaziland is 1.1 million, according
to latest United Nations estimates.
Figures released by the Ministry of Health show more
young people than older had tested positive. Of the total, 474 (16.2 percent) were
aged 19 or younger. In contrast, 178 positive cases were aged 60 or older (6.1
percent). A total of 838 cases involved people aged 30-39 years (28.8 percent).
Of the 2,909 people testing positive, the Ministry
reported, 1,385 had recovered.
The Swazi Government reopened some schools in July and
intends to open more soon. It is not known if the school reopenings contributed
to the numbers of cases in young people. The Swaziland
National Association of Teachers (SNAT) has asked the High Court to close
the schools again because it says it is not yet safe to open.
The Ministry of Health has not published a breakdown
of the ages of those who have died.
There is no end in sight to the pandemic in Swaziland.
Last week Nkosi announced
hospitals were close to breaking point. At that time there had been only 28
deaths. A total of 23,000 coronavirus tests had been carried out, she said.
Separately, it was reported that ambulances were grounded
because of a lack of fuel.
Also last week, Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg
announced the cost of tacking coronavirus would leave a shortfall of US$207
million in this year’s national budget. He secured a loan of US$110 million from
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and is expecting further loans from
the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
On Monday, Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini announced a
new set of guidelines aimed at reducing the number of deaths from coronavirus
which included an improved turnaround time for test results by offering
priority testing for those with symptoms and those already severely ill and
admitted at various health facilities.
He also promised improved care of suspected cases in
regional hospitals by deploying additional equipment such as ventilators and oxygen
delivering apparatus.
See also
Swaziland
hospitals close to overwhelmed by coronavirus, says Heath Minister
IMF
gives Swaziland emergency coronavirus loan but is only half what is needed
Swaziland
pledges public sector job cuts, below inflation wage increases to secure IMF
loan
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