Mutare residents have positively responded to the free COVID-19 testing facility availed by the local municipality and the Ministry of Health and Childcare to assist members of the public to know their status.
A visit by 263Chat to the three centres at Queens Hall, Dangamvura and Sakubva high density suburbs showed an overwhelming uptake of the free COVID-19 testing facility.
At one of the site, where the Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) were being conducted over 10 residents had joined the queue to be tested.
In an interview with 263Chat, a resident from Dangamvura resident, Thompson Hondoyemoto applauded the council for the noble initiative to provide residents with cheaper alternative.
Hondoyemoto called for free testing services to be made available in all residential suburbs for the greater good of the city.
“This is a noble initiative that has been taken by our council. We are grateful to have facilities for free COVID-19 testing because locally private tests are expensive and out of reach of the ordinary people.
“We hope that council will extend these services across all the residential areas so that people can go and get tested closer to their homes without travelling outside their locations,” he said.
In a statement to Mutare residents, council said the free COVID-19 testing programme was aimed at assisting the public to known their status.
“City of Mutare in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care has started rolling out free Covid-19 testing Sites in the City to assist the public in knowing their status,” the municipality said.
Private COVID-19 testing in Mutare is out of reach of many citizens with most laboratories charging between USD30 to USD70 for PCR testing, a situation that is working against government efforts to combat the spread the spread of the deadly pandemic.
