ZIMBABWE President, Emerson Mnangagwa has introduced new measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the midst of a raging new COVID-19 wave which has seen new cases increasing fourfold over the past week.
By Michael Gwarisa
According to the ministry of health and child care (MoHCC), the number of new cases increased during the week under review, with 28 904 cases recorded compared to 5 055 cases the previous week. Announcing the new measures, President Mnangagwa confirmed that majority of the new cases were linked to the new Omicron variant.
Over the last two weeks, the nation has experienced a 472% dramatic and exponential increase in new COVID-19 cases with 28 908 new cases having been recorded last week alone compared to 5 055 cases the week before. The last genomic sequencing has linked all the cases to the highly transmissible new Omicron variant,” said President Mnangagwa.
He added that even though majority of the new cases were presenting as mild, there was fear the proportion of the moderate to severe disease might overwhelm the country’s case management capacity especially in the face of depleted specialized human resources in the health institutions.
“Consequently, government extents the current lockdown for a further two weeks with the following measures in place: Scaling down all government activities to 30%, except for essential services. Commuters to wear face masks in both public and private transport settings, coupled with strict law enforcement of this public health measure.
“Hotels and lodges are directed to provide room service for their clients as opposed to gathering in restaurants and bars without face masks. Business that are subject to annual shutdown are encouraged to close early for the festive season at least by Unit Day 22 December 2021. All those eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, including the booster shot should be vaccinated.”
