Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has extended lockdown by two weeks to the third of May 2020 stating that conditions are not yet ready for lifting the movement restrictions.
The country’s leader said the need to lift the lockdown is when COVID-19 is fairly under control.
“It has been a very hard decision, my Government has had to take reluctantly, but it has been a necessary and an unavoidable decision in the circumstances in which we find ourselves,” he said.
“We need to maintain the same level of national and self-restraint as we have shown in the three weeks which we have gone by all in the interest of our nation and of ourselves individually.”
Following an extension of the lockdown, the government allowed the mining to resume or scale up operations with an objective of keeping the economy running.
“I have now directed 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 resumed operations,” President Mnangagwa said.
“Further to the extent possible, I have directed workers in the mining sector remain within the premises of their accommodation at workplaces for the duration of the lockdown.”
Some players in the mining sector, including coal extraction, were regarded as essential services and continued to operate during the lockdown.
The government also allowed the manufacturing sector to continue in operation at a limited scale.
Zimbabwe’s leader said the inspectors to ensure that companies adhere to the safety measures put in place by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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