Harare (New Ziana) – Vice President General (rtd) Constantino Chiwenga on Friday urged Zimbabweans not to panic following the revelation that a new coronavirus variant is beginning to spread.

Officially opening the 2021 Health Professions Authority congress, VP Chiwenga, who is also the Health and Child Care Minister, said the government was putting in place measures to lessen the impact of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The new variant, Zimbabwe has put on restrictions as part of SADC, this variant b11529 which has to be identified by yourselves as scientists. What I want to say is that the country should not panic because we are very prepared,” he said.

The United Kingdom has temporarily banned all flights from the Southern parts of Africa, including Zimbabwe, from entering the country in response to the new coronavirus variant B.1.1.529.

It also banned flights from that country to the six African countries.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has cautioned countries against hastily imposing travel restrictions linked to the new B.1.1.529 variant of Covid, saying they should take a “risk-based and scientific approach”.

The World Health Organisation has however cautioned countries against hastily imposing travel restrictions linked to the new Covid-19 variant.

World Health Organisation experts are expected to meet to assess the variant, which has been classified as a variant under monitoring earlier this week.

According to the UK Health Security Agency, the latest variant includes a large number of spike protein mutations which could potentially be more transmissible and evasive to vaccine immunity.

New Ziana