Zimbabwe and South Africa will at midnight today formally
close Beitbridge Border Post to non-essential human traffic in line with the
two governments’ robust plans to curtail the spread of Covid-19 which has
killed thousands of people globally.
On Monday President Mnangagwa announced a cocktail of
measures to manage and contain the spread of Covid-19. Some of the strategies include an immediate
ban on gatherings around nightclubs, bars, beerhalls, movie houses, swimming
pools, gymnasiums and sporting activities until further notice. Further,
hospital visits have been reduced to one visit by one person per day while
public gatherings have been cut from 100 to 50.
Informal markets will remain open but citizens are
encouraged to limit their visits while health and security personnel will be
deployed to enhance screening services. With regard to mass transport, new
measures will be announced shortly for the safety of commuters. As of
yesterday, people were seen going to either side of the border. Some said they
wanted to join their spouses in either country since schools have been closed.
The assistant regional immigration officer in charge of
Beitbridge (Zimbabwe), Mr Nqobile Ncube said they had agreed in principle with
the South Africans to synchronise operations for the next 21 days. “What it
means is that by midnight on Thursday we are closing the border to
non-essential human traffic and we have agreed to synchronise the compliance
period with our South African counterparts,” he said.
Mr Ncube said only Zimbabweans travelling from SA and those
foreigners who have valid permits to reside in Zimbabwe will be allowed passage
at the Zimbabwean side.
“The same applies to those leaving the country, it will be
the South Africans and Zimbabweans who are residents of the neighbouring
country who will depart. As per the Presidential declaration, we will allow the
movers of freight to access the border to ensure that all the essential
commodities are moved into either country”.
In South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a
21-day lockdown from today which will see people staying indoors, businesses
closed except for those providing essential services.
An average of 14 000 people, 120 buses, 500 commercial
trucks and 3000 vehicles used to pass through Beitbridge border post daily.
This includes people in transit to other Sadc countries
north of the Zambezi River. Chronicle
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