BY SILAS NKALA BULAWAYO’s Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital has received a donation of eight beds from stakeholders to increase its capacity in handling COVID-19 at a time the country is experiencing a surge in positive cases. The council-owned hospital was last year declared a COVID -19 health facility alongside United Bulawayo, Mater Dei and Ekusileni hospitals. As of October last year, the Bulawayo City Council indicated that the health institution required about $100 million for a major upgrade in light of its new role. Zimbabwe Christian Alliance director Useni Sibanda yesterday said stakeholders had managed to source eight beds for the hospital. 'We have about eight beds being delivered to Thorngrove Hospital. We will be assisting some of the district isolation hospitals with personal protective equipment (PPE),” Sibanda said. He said their generous activities were not only confined to Bulawayo as they have since installed some solar panels at Plumtree District Hospital. “At Plumtree District Hospital we have just installed solar to ensure that they have continuous power for testing and for people to get results in time. We are supporting all quarantine centres in Matabeleland South, North, Bulawayo and Midlands with PPE, blankets, buckets and so forth,” Sibanda said. Sibanda said his organisation would also mobilise resources to install solar power at Beitbridge District Hospital. Follow Silas on Twitter @silasnkala