No 6PM to 6AM curfew: Govt

Harare Bureau
Bulawayo is not under the intensified lockdown measures which include the 6pm to 6am curfew measure, as recently announced in some sections of the media, Health and Child Care Deputy Minister John Mangwiro has said.

The announcement comes after the media has this week reported that the police in Bulawayo have introduced a curfew after some Bulawayo suburbs have been declared Covid-19 hotspots.

Dismissing the reports while addressing journalists in Harare yesterday Dr Mangwiro advised that only the Presidium announces such lockdown developments.

“I heard there are certain sections of the media purporting that Bulawayo is under lockdown.

“This is not correct. This statement is purporting that Nkulumane, Pelandaba, Emganwini, Sizinda, Emakhandeni, Cowdray Park, Pumula, and others are under lockdown. This is not correct.

“If there is going to be a lockdown, I would like to advise the public, such an announcement would be made by the Head of State who is the President Dr E.D. Mnangagwa or anyone he would have designated or the Minister of Health and Child Care or anyone designated to do that on his behalf.

“So this is not correct because the legal instruments are not in place, these have not been put in place, there is no legal basis for all this.

“So I would like to dismiss the statement that is making rounds on social media and if there is going to be such a thing, the public will be told at the appropriate time,” Dr Mangwiro said.

This week, Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube was quoted in the media saying effective yesterday, police would be deployed to monitor compliance.

“Business hours is now between 8AM– 3PM meaning that all shops and businesses in town must close at that time and this applies to the rest of the suburbs that have been declared hotspots.

“We are calling for maximum cooperation from members of the public so that we see this phase passing smoothly,” he said.