Harare (New Ziana) – President Emmerson Mnangagwa ordered a total Covid-19 lockdown in Zimbabwe on Friday for 21 days from next week to better prepare the country to combat the pandemic.
The country has registered only seven Covid-19 cases, including one death, but President Mnangagwa said government took the drastic national lockdown step after medical experts warned infections could spike sharply in the approaching winter season.
The lockdown decision follows a meeting on Friday of an inter-ministerial taskforce on Covid-19 at State House which he hosted.
It is the boldest precautionary measure the government has taken against the raging pandemic which has killed over 20 000 people around the world and stricken hundreds of thousands of others.
Under the lockdown, which takes effect from Monday next week, only medical staff and employees in critical sectors such as energy, retail, food and water will be allowed to go to work.
Private public transport services will be suspended, only that offered by the government will be available.
Until now, government had only ordered a partial lockdown of its services by permitting a third of its 300 000 strong workforce to be reporting for work at any given time.
President Mnangagwa said although the lockdown was inconvenient as it upset people’s daily social routines, it was medically imperative.
“Starting Monday the 30th of March 2020 and subject to further review, Zimbabwe will be under a total lockdown for a period of 21 days. This means all our citizens are required to stay at home except of course with respect to essential movements related to seeking health services, the purchase and procurement of food and medicines and for other essential supplies and critical services,” he said.
“Workers manning our essential services including health services and outlets, emergency and security services as well as operation of key utilities like power and water are exempt from this directive.”
To ensure strict compliance, President Mnangagwa said he had directed the country’s security services to deploy to enforce the lockdown directive.
“Only civil servants on duty in line with decisions and directive of the Public Service Commission, heads of ministries and ad-hoc tasks force on Covid-19 will be allowed unrestricted movement,” he said.
“While funerals will be exempt from this directive, numbers of attendance should not exceed 50.Visits to hospitals and clinics remain as earlier announced, that is one visitor per patient per day.”
President Mnangagwa said motorists seeking to refuel during the lockdown would not be allowed to leave their vehicles while in respect of open markets, only food related markets would be allowed to operate under the watch of health personnel.
He said markets and stalls trading in non food items and commodities would be closed.
“Should it become necessary, security forces maybe deployed to assist in the enforcement of these and other measures and for the maintenance of order at these markets,” he said.
In relation to public transport, President Mnangagwa said all public transport operations were suspended until further notice.
“Only Zupco and Public Service Commission buses will be exempt from this directive. Even then all Zupco and Public Service Commission buses are required to observe and enforce social distance and disinfection
guidelines in the course of offering their services,” he said.
Turning to the role of local authorities during the lock-down, President Mnangagwa said water and ablution facilities were key to fighting the pandemic.
He said government and local authorities would step up efforts to ensure regular and reliable water supplies in all residential areas and smooth refuse collection.
To counter misinformation, President Mnangagwa said he had directed the Ministries of Health and Child Care and that of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services to work closely and ensure that communities were kept aware and comprehensively informed about the pandemic.
“To ensure that our hospitals are not overwhelmed and that other normal hospital services are not compromised more separate treatment and isolation units and facilities will be established either on hospital sites or on other identified centres whether public or private as designated by the Minister of Health and Child Care,” he said.
“Government will galvanise and support local industries as well as institutions of higher learning to produce what they can locally, this includes the manufacture of medicines, sanitiser, PPE and the setting up of temporary isolation facilities for use during the emergency.”
President Mnangagwa added; “Now is the time to show unity of purpose and to put aside unnecessary divisions we need peace in our land, we need law and order above all we need solidarity and compassion.”
New Ziana