HARARE – The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Harare reached 35 on Tuesday, health officials said.

There was good news though from the second city, Bulawayo, after authorities there said tests on 10 people who had been quarantined showed that they had not contracted the disease.

The government issued a plea for $57 million, with Local Government Minister July Moyo saying $51 million would be used in providing medical care for about 50,000 patients while $6 million would be used to revamp sewer and water reticulation infrastructure in the hotspots of Glen View and Budiriro suburbs in Harare.

Dr Robert Mudyaradima, a Ministry of Health official, told reporters in the capital that the death toll continued to rise with 35 confirmed dead and over 5,000 people having been treated for the disease.

Rubbish dumps have been removed from high-risk areas of Harare; leaky sewer pipes have been identified for repair and street food vendors are being forcibly moved off the streets by police.

Authorities have banned public gatherings in the city as a health measure, which forced the MDC to cancel its rally last Saturday – but football matches, church gatherings and music concerts have been allowed to proceed, undermining efforts to curb the disease from spreading.

In Bulawayo, authorities say tests in 10 people isolated at the Thorngrove infectious diseases hospital had come back negative for cholera or typhoid. The patients had been discharged, just as two others were admitted. Tests on the latest patients are still being conducted.

“For the specimens that were sent to the laboratory… there is no evidence that the admitted patients have cholera or typhoid,” said Bulawayo City Council director of Health Services Dr Edwin Sibanda.

Cholera outbreaks have occurred regularly in Zimbabwe as authorities struggle to provide potable water and sanitation facilities. The worst outbreak in recent years was in 2008, at the height of an economic crisis, when 4,000 people died and 40,000 others received treatment.

UNICEF advised Zimbabweans to prevent cholera spreading by regular hand-washing, drinking only safe water, washing food, cooking it thoroughly and avoiding shaking hands.