PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has extended the Covid-19 national
lockdown to May 3 as part of the Government’s broad response to the rising
number of cases in the country.
The lockdown which started on March 30, was meant to expire
at midnight yesterday. Zimbabwe has so far recorded 25 confirmed Covid-19 cases
and three deaths.
Addressing the nation yesterday, President Mnangagwa said
the extension was unavoidable as the country is yet to meet the conditions for
lifting the lockdown that were recently set by the World Health Organisation
(WHO) among which are the capacity by the health system to test, isolate, treat
and trace every contact.
He said extending the lockdown was necessary to prepare for
worse times which are likely ahead.
The President said the Government has always been conscious
of the huge costs which come with a total national lockdown to the economy and
livelihoods of families but nothing is more important than saving life.
President Mnangagwa said the country is facing a new
situation where more of the country’s citizens are coming back home, including
from countries heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic which presents an
unavoidable, but growing threat to the nation as it accommodates all our
returning citizens.
“As I have already indicated, worldwide cases of infections
continue to gallop, with the World Health Organisation counselling against
relaxing lockdowns adopted by almost all countries of the world. Guided by
these realities, and to allow ourselves greater leeway to prepare for worse
times which are likely ahead, Government has decided to extend with immediate
effect the National Lockdown by 14 days,” he said.
“That means the National Lockdown which would have expired
at midnight stands extended by another two weeks up to 3rd May, 2020.
Government has reviewed the situation obtaining in the country, around us in
the region and worldwide.”
The President also announced that the nation would upscale
testing, so that more people can be tested for coronavirus.
Zimbabwe is targeting to test about 40 000 people by the
end of this month. President Mnangagwa said the decision to extend the
lockdown was unavoidable.
He said in arriving at that decision, Government took into
account the few cases which had already hit the country as well as the global
spread of the virus which continues to swell at an alarming rate daily.
“It has been a very hard decision my Government has had to
take reluctantly. But it has been a necessary and unavoidable decision in the
circumstances in which we find ourselves in. We need to maintain the same level
of national and self-restraint, as we have shown in the three weeks which have
gone by, all in the interest of our nation and of ourselves individually,” he
said.
The President also made some adjustments allowing limited
mining and manufacturing activities to resume.
“Government is acutely aware of the need to keep the
economy running, albeit at subdued levels. With this objective in mind,
Government has decided to allow the mining sector to resume or scale up
operations, even then within parameters set by the World Health Organisation
regarding social distancing and other public health safety measures,” he said.
“I have now directed the Ministries of Health and Child
Care, and that of Mines and Mining Development to work closely to ensure the
workforce in the mining sector is immediately screened and tested ahead of
resuming operations. Further, to the extent possible I have directed that
workers in the mining sector remain within the precincts of their accommodation
at workplaces for the duration of the lockdown.”
Essential services will continue as before, operating
within designated times and parameters as already announced. The President said
the Department of Social Welfare has started rolling out support schemes and
measures targeting vulnerable families throughout the country. “These measures
which include cash disbursements will be fine-tuned and intensified so needy
families are supported throughout the period of the national lockdown. Our
Security Arms will step in to assist, including facilitating essential
movements of our citizens during this difficult period,” he said.
“Today as I address you, more than 2, 3 million people have
been infected worldwide with Covid-19, with at least 160 000 having succumbed
to the disease. Our continent of Africa has reported more than 18 000 cases,
with 348 deaths having been recorded,” he said.
“Coming to our own country, we have witnessed a spiking of
infections from single digits to the current 25, with three of our loved ones
already dead,” said President Mnangagwa. “Apart from this growing number of
infections, we are deeply worried that the virus is beginning to attack our
children, with more and more cases coming from local transmissions. Clearly the
numbers are rising, and will soon gallop uncontrollably once we reach the
deadly mark of 100, after which the grim multiplier effect kicks in.”
The President noted that once the cases begin to grow
exponentially, the strain on the country’s health facilities would be huge. He
said there was a need for the country to do its best and ensure the pandemic
levels are low and manageable in numbers.
“Indeed, we should treat the current small numbers of
infections as a window of opportunity to tighten our collective national
defences, while providing for the worst-case scenario of a full-blown health
crisis. This, your Government has, and continues to do, within the limited
means and constraints it has,” said President Mnangagwa.
“From the very beginning, we have always known that a
national lockdown cannot be the cure, the solution. Rather, it merely buys time
for us to slow down transmissions, while we take other measures and prepare on
many fronts, to cope and deal with the pandemic.”
President Mnangagwa said if carried out successfully, the
country’s strategy in fighting Covid-19 would become the exit strategy from the
engulfing danger and the painful measures which this danger has necessitated.
“Let me emphasise that the national lockdown cannot, in
itself, be the strategy nor can it last forever. Our national strategy must be
founded on, firstly, levelling the pandemic by arresting its spread in the
immediate. While we do that, we should take measures that place us ahead of
infections so we hold the disease at bay, while a cure and vaccines are being
found and developed respectively,” he said.
The Government has now embarked upon expanded tests covering
the whole country to allows authorities to gauge the magnitude of the problem,
while promptly isolating cases early enough from the onset of the virus, and
before more and more people are infected through contact or community
transmissions.
President Mnangagwa said Government will avail more test
kits to several centres countrywide so that every citizen is within reach of
testing services.
“With time and before long, all our health institutions,
right down to small, remote rural clinics, must become testing centres. It also
means we have to increase our laboratories countrywide, to ensure results of
expanded tests come soon enough to allow for timeous interventions,” he said.
“We thus need a competent cadre across the whole health value chain. This means
more recruitments, more specialised training and retraining so our hardworking
health workers know how to play their part in the fight against Covid-19,
without putting themselves in harm’s way.”
The President said there is a need to account for all
persons who would have come in contact with all infected persons.
He said health institutions were being repurposed to handle
the pandemic with the number of beds for Covid-19 cases set to be increased in
anticipation of increased infections. He said there is a compelling need to
flatten and then arrest the infection curve as well as raising the line of
tests through expanded testing.
“We must see more Covid-19 recoveries so our health
institutions are not overburdened”, he said.
The President said in respect of the country’s
manufacturing sector, he has directed that limited operations resume in the
national interest under supervision to ensure public health safety measures are
strictly adhered to.
“This reprieve covers our manufacturers in our informal
sector and SMEs as well, who have to use these two weeks to rebuild their
capacities and stocks. The responsible Ministry is also directed to work
closely with the Health authorities to ensure there is order and safety in that
sector so critical to livelihoods,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said Government will continue to
explore ways of mitigating the impact of the lockdown on all businesses so that
the economy recovers more rapidly after the pandemic. Herald
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