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In a statement read Saturday night, the Zimbabwean vice president said 1,342 infections and 29 deaths recorded last week were the highest so far.
FILE: A medical staff member in protective gear puts a face mask on a simulated patient at Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital in Harare on March 11, 2020. Image: AFP
HARARE – Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga announced a tough new 30-day lockdown starting Tuesday in response to rising COVID-19 deaths and infections in the country.
The measures include a dawn-to-dusk curfew and strict restrictions on interprovincial travel.
In a statement read Saturday night, Chiwenga said 1,342 infections and 29 deaths recorded last week were the highest so far.
Chiwenga, who is also the health minister, said that restaurants, bars, gyms and liquor stores will not be allowed to operate and that religious services and weddings will not be allowed either.
Pharmacies and supermarkets will now close at 3 p.m. and only agricultural, mining, manufacturing and tourism companies will continue to operate.
But all other businesses, including markets operated by Zimbabwe’s vast informal merchant workforce, will be closed.
Authorities have been spooked by the rise in deaths and infections, and locals on social media have been sharing stories of crowded covid rooms, sick family members, and tragic covid deaths in recent days.
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