Mnangagwa Confirms He Will Tighten Lockdown
Speaking in Harare on Wednesday, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has confirmed that he is likely to impose further restrictions as Covid-19 cases continue to spike.
Mnangagwa said projections show that Zimbabwe is headed for the worst stating that projections show that Zimbabwe is not “yet out of the woods, this is just the beginning, the worst is yet to come.” He further appealled to Zimbabweans not to be complacent.
Mnangagwa said the decision to impose further restrictions and measures is a difficult one. Mnangagwa said. “Initially, I declared a national lockdown because I felt as President that we are at a very very weak platform to deal with the pandemic. Then I thought that the machinery had begun to work to capacitate some of our systems then I relaxed some of the measures recommended by the World Health Organisation but now with the surge that is coming around, I am likely to impose further restrictions and measures. This is a very difficult decision because these measures affect the functioning of the economy.”
He said saving lives is his priority. “We have to choose between having to suffer for a period and survive and pick up the pieces and move on. And relax and have a devastation where most of our loved ones among ourselves will perish hoping to save the economy. My belief is that even before the arrival before of the pandemic in Zimbabwe we were…economy. It is most critical that we save lives. So we can sit around again and discuss restructuring, reconstruction of our economy. So I say this because I think that I have to move with the nation on the need to save lives as a priority and protect the economy as a second priority, ” he said.
Zimbabwe’s cabinet yesterday deferred the re-opening of schools pending a review of the current Covid-19 situation. However, writing of examinations will be allowed to continue.
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