Govt further extends Lockdown

Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor  

THE Government has further extended the Covid-19 National Lockdown by another two weeks noting the need to contain the rising number of new cases being recorded in the country.

The new regulations will see all Government activities scaling down to 30 percent.

Announcing the extension and added regulations, President Mnangagwa said the last genomic sequencing had linked all the new cases being recorded in the country to the highly transmissible new Omicron variant.

The President said though a majority of the positive cases have mild disease, the numbers were still very high and the proportion of the moderate to severe cases was likely to overwhelm the country’s case management capacity.

“Consequently, Government extends the current lockdown for a further two weeks, with the following measures in place; scaling down all Government activities to 30 percent except for essential services.

“Commuters to wear masks in both public and private transport settings, coupled with strict law enforcement of this critical public health measure,” said President Mnangagwa.

He further directed hotels and lodges to provide room service to their clients, as opposed to gathering in restaurants and bars without face masks.

“Businesses that are subject to annual shutdowns are encouraged to close early for the festive season, at least by Unity Day, 22 December 2021.

“All those eligible for Covid-19 vaccination including the booster shot should be vaccinated,” said the President.

He further encouraged members of the public to strictly adhere to all Covid-19 prevention protocols so as to reduce the impact of the pandemic.