Lockdown To Be Relaxed Only After Vaccination: Mnangagwa

Zimbabwe’s President HE Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa said he will only open up the country after vaccinating the majority of Zimbabweans.

This announcement has gone against business advices, who had hoped that the president will open up the struggling economy and allow Zimbabweans wallowing in poverty without social nets to get economic relief.

By Tongai Mwenje

The President announced this via microblogging platform, Twitter.

“Life can only return to normality once the majority of Zimbabweans have been vaccinated. This is the ultimate goal.

Thank you to both China and Russia for their donation of COVID-19 vaccines to the people of Zimbabwe. Your generosity during this dark time will not be forgotten,” he posted.

The country is currently under an extended two week lockdown which is expected to lapse on the 15th of February 2021.

Lockdowns have been the order of the day around the globe since the outbreak of the pandemic COVID-19 early last year.

This is believed to be a remedy to contain the spread of the virus.

To date, the virus which originated from China has claimed more than two million lives across the globe.

Zimbabwe has experienced one of the worst COVID-19 experience in the past weeks.

The deadly virus has claimed lives of top government officials.

The latest being the death of three ministers and former Prison boss in a short space of time – Sibusiso Moyo, Joel Biggie Matiza, Ellen Gwaradzimba and Paradzai Zimhondi.

This has prompted the government to treat the situation as serious and that which requires immediate action.

Whilst the vaccine issue has been a welcome development in other countries, some, especially in Africa are treading cautiously and are yet to embrace the idea under suspicion basis.

Countries like Tanzania who have never implemented lockdown has since decided against the use of vaccines in their country.

Neighbours, South Africa recently purchased their first batch which later on became controversial after it emerged that their life span do not exceed three months.

The Southern African country President Cyril Ramaphosa in his previous address relaxed the lockdown measures to allow the country to slowly return to normality.

The lockdown relaxation was done before the rolling out of the vaccine.

However, his counterpart, Mnangagwa said he will only relax the lockdown measures once the majority of his people are vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the country has to date recorded 38 864 COVID-19 cumulative cases including 29 471 recoveries and 1364 deaths.