President Emmerson Mnangagwa has extended the level four lockdown by two weeks to 15 February 2021 with a statement for the extension stating that the war against the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over.
The current lockdown has however stabilised the country’s situation in terms of the pandemic according to the statement.
“In relative terms and since the lockdown, the number of infections have been decreasing substantially,” reads the statement.
“Equally, our recovery rate has gone up from an all-time low of fifty-four per cent to the current one which is seventy-five per cent. Even though the numbers we are losing to the pandemic are falling, we bemoan the fact that Zimbabweans are dying at all.”
The government described the COVID-19 situation in the country as worrisome.
“In the last week our new cases have been averaging about three hundred (300) per day, with deaths averaging twenty (20) per day.” the statement reads.
“Cumulative cases as at 1st January 2021 were 14 084 and deaths were 369.
“As at 28th January, 2021 cumulative cases reached 32 646 with deaths breaching the thousand mark to give us 1 160.”
The government also raised fears that new strains and variants could be circulating in Zimbabwe.
“These strains are more transmissible and infectious. We are doing genomic sequencing to see if these strains are in our environment.”
