HARARE – Broadcaster Zororo Makamba – the first person to die from the coronavirus in Zimbabwe – was buried during a small, private ceremony on Tuesday, 24 hours after his death.

The 30-year-old, who came to be known as ‘Patient 2’ after his diagnosis was confirmed on March 21, was laid to rest at his family’s farm just outside Harare.

Funeral directors and health workers in hazmat suits and masks conducted the burial, also attended by his distraught parents – Telecel founder James Makamba and wife, Irene.

Nick Mangwana, the government spokesman, said “all protocols in handling departed loved ones who pass on from infectious conditions were followed.”

The protocols contained in the Public Health Act decree that an individual who dies from an infectious disease must be ferried straight from the hospital to the burial site.

A relative said: “We are going to set a date when everyone will gather and mourn. For now, this is what had to be done.”

Health experts say there is unlikely to be an increased risk of coronavirus infection from a dead body to health workers or family members who follow standard precautions while handling body.

Only the lungs of dead patient, if handled during an autopsy, can be infectious.

The former ZiFM presenter was the second person to test for coronavirus in Zimbabwe after travelling to New York on February 29, returning home on March 9. He developed flu-like symptoms from March 12, which eventually led to his hospitalisation on March 20.

The health ministry on Tuesday announced a third coronavirus case involving a man who came into contact with Makamba, but released no further details. It said the positive result came out of tests on 15 specimens, a majority of them connected to Makamba.