Govt gets tough to keep Zim Coronavirus free

Harare (New Ziana) – Travellers coming to Zimbabwe from countries affected by the deadly COVID-19 will now be required to produce health certificates certifying that they are free of the virus before being granted entry into the country, a Cabinet Minister said on Tuesday.

Unlike other African countries, which went as far as suspending flights to and from China, the epicentre of the virus, Zimbabwe was only screening visitors on entry without requiring certificates and quarantining suspected cases for tests.

So far, two travellers, a returning resident and a Chinese national have been quarantined but their test results returned negative and were discharged.

So far, tight COVID-19 monitoring systems and state of the art testing, quarantine and treatment facilities put in place by the Zimbabwe government have kept the country safe from the virus.

But, as an additional safety measure, Cabinet at its Tuesday meeting resolved to bar visitors without valid health certificates from entering the country.

“All visitors from affected countries should hold valid medical certificates of clearance for Coronavirus showing that they have been examined for symptoms and tested for Coronavirus at a designated government health institution in their country,” Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said.

Adding on, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said government was determined to keep Zimbabwe free of COVID-19.

“If one does not have a certificate of fitness from a government hospital from their country of origin we will have no choice but to send them back. We are doing this so that we strengthen our preventative measures against Coronavirus. We have to make tough decisions to keep Coronavirus out of Zimbabwe,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mutsvangwa said as of March 1, 2020, a total 6 169 travellers had been screened at the country’s air and ground ports of entry.

She said government was also continuing to coordinate the training of health personnel on how to deal with COVID-19, in case of a confirmed case.

The virus, which has killed more than 2 700 people, is rapidly spreading around the world.

The rapid spread of the viral disease has forced the World Health Organisation to declare it a crisis requiring an urgent co-ordinated global response.

New Ziana