State-owned The Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday that the 26-year-old presented himself to the isolation centre.

City Health director Prosper Chonzi told the publication that the man will be released if he tests negative. The results were expected later on Tuesday.

 “We are keeping an eye on him and we are happy that he is back for us to conduct the necessary tests. He is currently in isolation until we are sure that he does not have the virus,”  Chonzi was quoted as saying in The Herald.

On Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s ministry of health and child care said the Thai national was coughing mainly at night, had a fever and was sneezing.

In a communique seen by African News Agency, the ministry said a police report had been filed and authorities had searched for the 26-year-old-man at the home address he provided to the hospital. 

“The latest case referred to the Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital as a suspected case is that of a 26-year-old man who came into Zimbabwe on the 14th of February from Thailand," the statement said.

"He presented at Wilkins Hospital on the 8th of March – more than 14 days after arriving from Thailand – as a referral from a private institution where he had reported a two-day history of cough, fever and sneezing."

“On admission to Wilkins, he did not meet the World Health Organisation case definition of a suspected case but was still earmarked for a Covid-19 test due to the intensified surveillance that the country has adopted," the statement added.

African News Agency