Government worried by spike in Covid-19 cases

Harare (New Ziana)-The government is concerned with the increasing number of new Covid-19 cases and deaths over the past week and has urged the public to follow World Health Organisation protocols to prevent themselves against the virus, a cabinet minister said on Tuesday.

In a final post-Cabinet briefing for 2022, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said over 200 new cases and 6 Covid-19 related deaths were recorded during the past week.

“A total of 211 new cases including 6 deaths were recorded during the week, compared to 203 recorded the previous week. For the week under review there were 28 new admissions compared to 30 recorded the previous week.

“Cabinet advises that the small spike in the number of new cases and deaths recorded during the week is of concern and calls for the country to remain vigilant,” she said.

Zimbabwe’s cumulative cases since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 stand at 259 770, with 253 672 recoveries and 5 631 cumulative deaths.

The recovery rate is 98 percent, with 467 active cases.

Mutsvangwa said Ministers highlighted that Provincial Task Force teams should strengthen implementation of all COVID-19 public health and social measures with a focus to protect citizens during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

“In light of the upcoming festive season, Cabinet resolved on the following strategies in order to ensure that the pandemic is kept under check: that provincial teams strengthen their vaccination programs to protect citizens from severe disease and from death; and that communities and individuals remain vigilant during this festive season and continue to protect themselves by: getting fully vaccinated; washing hands with soap and running water; sanitizing hands frequently ; social distancing and avoiding crowded gatherings; wearing face masks properly in public transport vehicles; and indoor gatherings,” she said.

New Ziana