The government of Zimbabwe has published new lockdown regulations to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Intercity travel
Government will assume sole responsibility of intercity travel. Travelers will need to produce exemption letters.
Police presence in suburbs
Police will patrol in suburbs to enforce the lockdown
Civil servants
Only those approached by the Public Service Commission will be required to come to work. Only essential service providers will be required to work
Jail terms for absconding quarantine
A one year jail term has been introduced for absconding quarantine centres.
- House parties and shabeens will be stopped
- Unnecessary movement in suburbs will be curtailed
Citizens banned from entering CBD
Zimbabwe’s Government has moved to tighten security with individuals designated as part of essential services being the only people allowed in central business districts.
This was revealed by Information Secretary Ndabaningi Mangwana on Twitter.
The decision to tighten security comes at a time when Zimbabwe is experiencing an upsurge in covid-19 cases.
Mangwana said:
Yesterday, 133 positive cases were registered. There are some cases of deaths which are awaiting test results on whether Covid19 was the cause. Security is being tightened to ensure only essential services can be allowed through to CBDs. We apologise for any inconveniences.
Yesterday, 133 positive cases were regisrered. There are some cases of deaths which are awaiting test results on whether Covid19 was the cause. Security is being tightened to ensure only essential services can be allowed through to CBDs. We apologise for any inconveniences. pic.twitter.com/d4gwMcnvkd
— Nick Mangwana (@nickmangwana) July 20, 2020
There are also reports that the country will next week embark on massive community testing targeting to reach at least 100 000 people in the coming few weeks.
The main thrust of the testing campaign is to identify, trace and isolate all suspected cases.
Harare will conduct 30,000 tests with the help of Higher Life Foundation and Mars. The process would start off with rapid diagnostic testing (RDT), from which those positive will be tested again using the definitive method known as Polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Cabinet last week announced the imminent tightening of lockdown restrictions and localised lockdowns in hotspots amid concerns over rising cases.
Schools’ scheduled reopening next week was deferred while the further opening up of the economy was suspended.
The scaling up of testing in communities is part of new measures to curb further transmission.
To date, Zimbabwe has so far conducted over 100 000 of both RDT and PCR tests from which 1 788 people were confirmed to be carrying the virus.
Of those infected, 803 have since recovered.
The country has also lost 25 people to Covid 19.