Health Workers Repatriated After Hantavirus Contact

The Ministry of Health and Child Care continues to monitor three Zimbabwean healthcare workers under a 45-day observation period. The individuals recently returned from Ascension Island, where they were identified as contacts of a confirmed hantavirus case. Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora confirmed that the workers were repatriated via a private charter flight due to limited isolation capacity on the island. All three individuals tested negative for the virus upon arrival at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and remain asymptomatic. Port Health Services conducted initial screenings before the workers entered the mandatory quarantine. The government maintains that these measures are precautionary and that no cases of the virus have been detected within Zimbabwe's borders.