While Chiwenga on Saturday announced a ban on gatherings,
churches, sports and music, some ministers have been wantonly breaking COVID-19
regulations by throwing parties and holding meetings without following World
Health Organisation (WHO) protocols to curb the spread of the respiratory
disease.
The country has experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases in
the last seven days with 596 cases having been recorded and 26 deaths and
Chiwenga has blamed ordinary Zimbabweans of being complacent.
However, the ruling Zanu PF party has been holding events
at which with hundreds of people gathered.
Recently, Industry and Commerce minister Sekai Nzenza and
senior officials from her office posed for pictures with delegates from India,
a COVID-19 hotspot, without wearing face masks and without observing social
distancing.
In response to questions from NewsDay on why some ministers
are not observing COVID-19 protocols, Chiwenga said: ”You have seen people
without masks when we go for photo shoots. We take off masks during that time.
I don’t think that is being irresponsible.”
In new measures announced on Saturday, Chiwenga blamed
ordinary citizens, saying that their “general complacency had led to a sudden
spike in COVID-19 cases and was exposing the country to a third wave”.
“Sadly, it has been noted that there has been a general
complacency in adhering to the preventive measures both in communities and at
workplaces.”
However, former Health minister Henry Madzorera described
government as “hypocrites” for defending the reckless behaviour of senior
government officials at a time when the country is staring at the third wave.
“They are hypocrites. They don’t follow their own rules and
you will see that at funerals. You noticed the complacency exhibited during the
unveiling of the Mbuya Nehanda statue.
“We said people coming from India should be quarantined for
10 days, but the delegation just came in, there was no quarantine, they posed
for pictures, there were no precautions taken,” Madzorera said.
Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai
Rusike said government should engage in wide consultations before announcing
COVID-19 regulations as they might be unfriendly to a majority of Zimbabweans.
“It is important for the government to consult before
taking these measures because they have some disastrous economic consequences
for the majority of Zimbabweans,” Rusike said.
Restaurant Operators Association of Zimbabwe president
Bongai Zamchiya said: “We have been and remain in full support of efforts to
curb the spread of COVID-19, but we are now at a crossroads and require a
collective rethink. “Contrary to a common misperception, well-run restaurants
are not venues for spreading COVID-19, but are hygienic in concept and
operation, posing little if any threat to customers, certainly no greater than
any other business or home environment.”
Zamchiya said 75% of restaurant staff was vaccinated,
adding that they were observing social distancing and hand-washing as
prescribed by the law.
“Restaurants have been either closed or in partial
operation for the past 14 months and many have closed permanently, while those
remaining face financial ruin and closure,” Zamchiya said.
Meanwhile, as COVID-19 cases surge, one of the country’s
largest health insurance providers, Premier Service Medical Investments (PSMI)
has set up a COVID-19 stabilisation and treatment centre, as part of its
initiative to complement government efforts in containing the devastating
effects of the pandemic.
“The PSMI COVID-19 stabilisation and treatment centre will
provide acute observation of those clients with mild to moderate symptoms of
COVID-19 in preparation for continued care at home once stabilised and in line
with the Health ministry and WHO guidelines as a haven for those who will be
affected by the third wave by addressing some areas of the unmatched COVID-19
management gap,” PSMI said in a statement.
It said the facility would be an 11-bed clinic, which would
be manned by trained staff and on-call doctors to manage complicated cases.
Newsday
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