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Mukudzei Chingwere
Herald Reporter
Zimbabwe has been rated as a low risk destination for travellers by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, in what analysts say is an endorsement of the country’s sound Covid-19 response.
The risk assessment level for Covid-19 was classified into five categories which are low, moderate, high, very high and unknown.
Fifty-six countries across the globe received the high rating and were classified as low risk destinations.
These include Zimbabwe, China, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda and Iceland.
Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr John Mangwiro, yesterday said the endorsement was a sign that the national response was working, and urged citizens to continue adhering to the prescribed containment measures.
“The responses we are doing are guided by the President, His Excellency President Mnangagwa. If other people are now endorsing what we are doing it shows that what we are doing guided by the President is working,” said Dr Mangwiro.
“So what we are doing now is to continue to appeal to our people that they must adhere to all Government and World Health Organisation (WHO) mitigatory measures.
“Avoid unnecessary gatherings, mask up, sanitise and take up the vaccine when an opportunity is availed through our national vaccination roll-out programme. The vaccine is, for now, our biggest hope at beating the pandemic.”
Zimbabwe has defied odds to mount a thorough and effective response to the Covid-19 pandemic and has minimised the effects of the disease on citizens.
President Mnangagwa’s administration has received praises from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the People’s Republic of China for the way it has confronted the deadly pandemic.
Recently, Vice President and Health and Child Care Minister, Dr Constantino Chiwenga, commended the fight against Covid-19.
“Our response has been a combination of health promotion and prevention measures based on raising awareness and community mobilisation.
“The whole of Government and society’s approach helped the country to reduce transmission and Covid-19 associated morbidities and mortalities,” said VP Chiwenga.
Government has also introduced localised lockdowns in Kwekwe to control the spread of the virus in other places.
Cabinet extended the Kwekwe localised lockdown by a further two weeks to control the spread of the variant first detected in India, the B.1.617.
Since the first lockdown, 74 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in Kwekwe including of the variant first detected in India.
Government decided to control the geographical spread of the variant virus by restricting movements in the Midlands city to avoid a spike of infections.
The Ministry of Health said localised lockdowns were a management tool aimed at containing the spread of the pandemic outside that specific area while efforts to address the challenge are also directed to the place.
Online Reporter