By Robert Tapfumaneyi
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa Tuesday announced the extension of Covid-19 national lockdown by another two weeks.
The extension comes as new Covid-19 infections and deaths continue to rise in the country.
Mnangagwa made the announcement at State House and blamed the rise of new infections on complacency among citizens.
He said extending the Level 4 lockdown would help to vaccinate many people in the communities as Zimbabwe aims at achieving herd immunity.
“The plan to maintain the current Level 4 will make it possible for the immediate acceleration of the vaccination programme throughout the country,” Mnangagwa said.
“The programme will now be taken to communities making vaccination easily accessible to these seeking this essential service. The additional two million vaccine doses that were received this past week are enough to vaccinate a million people with each receiving the recommended two doses. The plan is to immediately target one million people during this extended two-week Level 4 lock period.”
The president also warned people who deliberately flout Covid-19 restrictions by travelling during the night to evade the ban on intercity travel.
Among other restrictions, during the current national lockdown, intercity travel is banned.
Zimbabwe has seen an upsurge in new Covid-19 infections and deaths with 2 661 new infections and 51 deaths recorded by the Health Ministry Tuesday.
Covid-19 hot spots have been identified as Karoi, Kariba, Zvimba, Centenary, Goromonzi, Chikomba, Chiredzi, Mwenezi, Bulawayo, Kwekwe and Harare.
