Harare (New Ziana) -President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday discouraged visits to the country’s prisons in the wake of the global coronavirus outbreak, which the World Health Organisation has since described as a pandemic to spur countries to action.

President Mnangagwa said families and relatives of incarcerated people should reduce visits to prisons as part of wider precautionary measures against the deadly disease.

“We are discouraging people from visiting their loved ones in prisons, that will be restricted,” he said.

“If there is a safer place now, it will be prisons,” he said.

Zimbabwe has not yet recorded a positive case of Coronavirus but the government has put in place measures to tighten the country’s preparedness and response systems.

These include suspending gatherings of more than 100 people including church services and weddings for the next 60 days.

The government has also postponed the 40th independence celebrations and the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, due next month.

President Mugabe said the pending release of thousands of prisoners on amnesty would be implemented in due course.

“The programme of amnesty has no relationship with the pandemic,” he said.

Government has said at least 6 000 prisoners will be pardoned under the Presidential amnesty this year to decongest the country’s correctional facilities.

Zimbabwe has 46 correctional facilities with a carrying capacity of 17 000 prisoners.

At least 22 000 offenders are in the correctional facilities.

The last amnesty was in 2018 when at least 3 000 offenders were pardoned.

New Ziana