PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa on Sunday toured some high-density suburbs in Harare to have a feel of the effectiveness of his government\u2019s 21-day lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus.<\/p>\n
Zimbabwe on Sunday entered Day 7 of the national lockdown with most citizens confined to their homes during the unprecedented period.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President was amazed by level of responsibility by Zimbabweans,\u201d Information ministry permanent secretary Nick Mangwana later .<\/p>\n
Mangwana was among government officials who accompanied Mnangagwa to tour Harare\u2019s Mabvuku, Tafara, Kuwadzana, Mufakose, Budiriro, Glenview as well as Zengeza in Chitungwiza.<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cThere was no police detail, no people in the streets, market stalls were empty and virtually there was nothing except a few people who were queuing for water at boreholes who even respected the social-distancing principle as they waited for their turn to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis (Mnangagwa) wish is for people to maintain the discipline shown over the past seven days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President wanted to see for himself what was happening in these areas but his body language showed he is not yet in a position to make a judgement on either to extend the lockdown or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe does not want to pre-judge, disinclined to say something at this moment unless there is a massive need to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember there are social and economic issues to consider and all that is being looked at by the ministerial taskforce (on Covid-19).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President understands that some people are not copying (psychological impact).\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Vice President Constantino Chiwenga led ministerial taskforce on COVID-19 is set to meet this Monday to review the situation.<\/p>\n
Mangwana said the taskforce is comprised nine committees which discuss issues and make recommendations to the President.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember on lockdown, Zimbabweans called for it and it was a consensus reached by everyone to save our lives. We are concerned about saving human life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Zimbabwe still has nine Covid-19 confirmed cases and a single related death since the first case was reported over two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Globally, figures continue to rise and as of Sunday, 1 224, 938 cases had been confirmed with 66 502 deaths recorded.<\/p>\n
America has highest infections of 311 656, followed by Spain at 130 759 and Italy 124 632.<\/p>\n
However, in terms of related deaths, Italy tops the list with 15 362, Spain 12 418 while America is third with 8 454.<\/p>\n
President Mnangagwa last week warned locals against being hoodwinked by the small numbers adding that the approaching winter season will come as a big test to the country as coronavirus thrives in cold temperatures.<\/p>\n
The President said his government has since decentralised operations in all health institutions to cater for everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa on Sunday toured some high-density suburbs in Harare to have a feel of the effectiveness of his government\u2019s 21-day lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus. Zimbabwe on Sunday entered Day 7 of the national lockdown with most citizens confined to their homes during the unprecedented period. \u201cThe President was amazed by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":19315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,12],"tags":[1279,34],"class_list":{"0":"post-21609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-head-lines","9":"category-policy","10":"tag-coronavirus-in-zimbabwe","11":"tag-emmerson-mnangagwa"},"yoast_head":"\n