MATSAPHA COMMUNITY PRIORITISED THROUGH COVID-19 FUMIGATION
High activity centres in Matsapha have been identified and fumigated in the past week, to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus (covid-19). Matsapha Town Council has been on its toes and working tirelessly to ensure that the Matsapha community remains protected. The Covid-19 cases in the country have been growing almost daily between the months of April and May. A majority of the reported cases are from the Manzini Region, which calls for more extensive measures by the local authorities to contain the spread. As mentioned by Manzini RA Chief Gija, the first weapon we can use to fight Covid-19 is to maintain good hygiene. Fumigating high densely populated areas is therefore in reaction to that call.
The identified high-density places that were prioritised included Health facilities such as, AHF Clinic and Matsapha Health Care. Health facilities at this time receive a lot of patients seeking medical health increasing the possibilities of infection. The fumigation was done thoroughly at the reception points, waiting areas and even the offices of the facility. This was specifically done to protect health care workers and patients.
Shopping Centres were also identified as key areas that required fumigating. These centres included Mahhala Shopping Complex, Big Tree, Mashayitafula, and Ruchi. Buildings, structures, shopping trolleys and ATMS were all fumigated. The filling stations at the complexes were not left out during the fumigation. Such retail centres operating as essential service providers, daily receive a number of people from different locations, therefore fumigation was of key importance to avoid customers from being carriers of the virus.
Finally, Armed Forces facilities that were fumigated are Matsapha Correctional Services, Matsapha Police Academy, Esigodvweni Police Station and Hlalawati Savings Credit Corporation utilized by Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF). Administration offices, holding cells, inmates’ dorms, Royal Eswatini Police Clinic, psychiatric offices and some of the officer’s residential dorms were fumigated.
The Coronavirus can last for hours to days on surfaces, therefore as a local authority, Matsapha Town Council intends to continue fumigating the town. Routine town inspections are being conducted monitoring any activity and determine the need for covid-19 fumigation. More places will continue being fumigated such as the two Charity Homes in Matsapha.
