CLAIM: Nurses at Parirenyatwa Hospital on strike over COVID-19
RATING: FALSE. A message circulating on social media claiming a strike over coronavirus is a hoax
A message has been circulating on Zimbabwean social media networks claiming that nursing staff at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare have gone on strike to protest a lack of protective clothing to prevent them from being infected with the coronavirus.
The message, shared widely via WhatsApp, said (unedited):
“Meanwhile, PARIRENYATWA NURSES said they will no longer come to work with emmidiate effect until the Zimbabwean government has supplied protective clothing to prevent Covid 19 and test kits. This is so because since it’s a parastatal hospital no patient is turned back so you never know has corona and who does not have since there are no test kits to confirm hence putting the poor nursing staff at risk.The interviewed nurses names withold said Parirenyatwa most of it’s time does not have running water from the taps and there is no backup system for water in the wards furthermore they said they do not even have sanitizers for a while now. How can they operate in such a harsh condition”
This is false.
The Public Relations Officer for Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Linos Dhire, said the message is a hoax.
“We have talked to our nurses and they have disowned the message, they do not know where it came from,” said Dhire.
Enock Dongo, president of the Zimbabwe Nurses Association, told ZimFact: “It’s not true. Nurses are at work at Parirenyatwa.”
However, he confirms that there was inadequate protective clothing and training for medical staff. “Government should urgently give resources to train nurses because they are the front-liners who receive clients at health facilities,” he said.
On the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff, Parirenyatwa’s Dhire said not all medical staff would require special PPE, and that the hospital has since put up new restrictions at the hospital to control traffic into the facility and screen everyone entering the hospital.
Parirenyatwa is not one of the facilities designated to handle coronavirus cases.
Conclusion
The social media message claiming a strike at Parirenyatwa over COVID-19 is a hoax.
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