(3 minutes read)
· Zimbabwe rolled over the duration of nationwide lockdown till February 15 to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus virus
· President Emmerson Mnangagwa had imposed a 30-day national lockdown on January 5. So far, Zimbabwe has reported 32,646 coronavirus cases and 1,160 deaths
· Significantly, there were 24,419 recoveries from the disease. What cause concerns to the government is the suspected new strains, which they fear are more transmissible and infectious
Zimbabwe rolled over the duration of nationwide lockdown till February 15 to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus virus. The extension of the period of lockdown was announced by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga at his address to the nation through Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC).
Chiwenga is also handling the healthcare ministry. Recently, there has been a spike in the number of cases of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe leading to rise in infections and deaths . President Emmerson Mnangagwa had imposed a 30-day national lockdown on January 5. So far, Zimbabwe has reported 32,646 coronavirus cases and 1,160 deaths. Significantly, there were 24,419 recoveries from the disease. What causes concerns to the government is the suspected new strains, which they fear are more transmissible and infectious. Authorities are doing genome sequencing to identify the variant of the strains. The government claimed that the current lockdown has helped in arresting the spread of the pandemic to a large extent and the extension of the lockdown is a step towards further tightening the abatement measures.
Importantly, the pandemic had snateched the lives of a few important people. Included in them are Perence Shiri, Zimbabwe’s agriculture minister, Ellen Gwaradzimba, Zimbabwe’s minister for provincial affairs for Manicaland province, Morton Malianga, the country’s former deputy finance minister, minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Sibusiso Busi Moyo, former Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere and Transport Minister Joel Biggie Matiza.
