HUMAN rights doctors have laid into government over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying they had noted a “sad scenario” where the fight against the dreaded pandemic was being hampered by the poor living conditions at the quarantine facilities, resulting in the recent spike in cases.

“This sad scenario is further compounded by the poor state of the quarantine facilities whose standards fall far below the World Health Organisation minimum standards,” the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) said in a statement yesterday.

“ZADHR strongly suspects that the recent spike in cases in quarantine centres is a result of the poor living conditions at the quarantine facilities.”

“ZADHR received reports that the Girls High quarantine centre, where a group of about 96 returnees — including pregnant women and an infant who were quarantined at Harare Polytechnic College on May 10, 2020 and later moved to Girls High School in Harare for further quarantining, upon arrival at Harare Polytechnic College — were not tested despite some individuals clearly exhibiting flu-like symptoms,” the doctors said.

ZADHR said it was concerned about reports that about 150 returnees were released from a Gweru facility four days ahead of schedule on May 24, 2020, after returnees threatened to protest against poor living conditions.