Eswatini’s foreign minister says country poised to slow spread of COVID

By Phathizwe Zulu

MANZINI, Eswatini (AA) - Eswatini’s foreign minister said Wednesday that the country is on track to “bend the curve” of the coronavirus pandemic as it grapples with a third wave of COVID-19.

Thuli Dladla said the situation is not unique to Eswatini as the world is working hard to cope with the deadly virus and it is important that the fight is not only waged by the government but involves the entire nation.

“The national vaccination campaign by the government and its development partners will certainly enable the nation to live with the disease. The government's objective is to vaccinate the entire nation, and we fully appreciate the caution by the US about the dangerous levels we have reached. But like any other country, we'll continue to work hard to bend the curve," Dladla said, using a phrase meaning altering the underlying terms of a problem to improve its outcome.

On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) included Eswatini along with France, Israel and Thailand among seven countries it added to a list of those to avoid travel to due to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in those countries.

In the statement, the US federal agency responsible for protecting the health of Americans warned travelers to avoid going to Eswatini because of the current COVID upsurge in the country.

“Avoid travel to Eswatini. If you must travel to Eswatini, make sure you are fully vaccinated before you travel,” the statement said.

Welcome Mdluli, president of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union, said the country will continue to be on the red list for international travelers because the government lacks the political will to fight the pandemic.

"The government is doing nothing about fighting COVID-19. It has not bought a single vaccine. All the doses vaccinating the nation are donated, and the country is currently struggling to vaccinate just a hundred thousand. This is a huge failure for a country with 1.2 million people.

"Considering our population, and we have a situation where over 700 confirmed new cases are recorded daily, that too can raise the alarm for the Americans. But figures aside, the issue still stands: What is the government doing to protect citizens from the COVID-19 pandemic?" said Mdluli.

A retired private medical doctor, Alvit Dlamini, agreed with Mdluli. He said the situation is bad because the government has failed to prioritize public health.

"There is a lack of political will to fight the pandemic. The government is doing absolutely nothing. What happened to the fumigation programs? In countries like South Korea, fumigation in public places would happen every week. This government is not serious about the health of the people" said Dlamini.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Lizzie Nkosi yesterday confirmed the dire situation in the public sector.

"Major hospitals are full, and wards for critical high-care patients are full," Nkosi said on national radio.

"This is the reason that some patients were offered sleeping mattresses owing to the limited spaces in the facilities. But despite the bed challenges, the situation is under control.”

The latest figures released by the Health Ministry indicate that around 767 new infections were recorded, taking cumulative confirmed cases to 33,565. The country also recorded seven new deaths for a total of 896 while 76,530 people are fully vaccinated.