Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who doubles as the Minister of Health and Child Care imposed a lockdown on Kwekwe, a city in Midlands after a COVID-19 scare and now a protest has been launched.
The lockdown came after a coronavirus variant first detected in India was detected in the gold mining town and over a dozen people including the family of a returnee from India had contracted the variant.
Some who are opposed to the Kwekwe lockdown launched a protest saying the move was not warranted considering that the whole of the Midlands province has only 25 active cases.
They observe that Harare which has 384, Bulawayo 74 and Matebeleland North which has 58 were never put under lockdown.
There has been an increase of only seven cases in the Midlands over the past week though no new case was reported Saturday.
The lockdown in Kwekwe effective from 21 May entails:
- Curfew running from 7 pm to 6 am.
- No visitors to all boarding schools and all-day schools to observe strict Covid 19 school protocols.
- Opening of business hours run from 8 am to 5 pm.
- All bars, drinking places beer halls and bottle stores to be closed.
- All gatherings (weddings, church services and all other public and private groupings) are banned.
- All funerals must be supervised by health personnel and should not gather more than 30 people.
- Travellers through Kwekwe are strongly being advised to spend as little time as possible in Kwekwe during the next two weeks.
One commentator said:
_I’m puzzled, the intention is good but The so-called ‘source’ didn’t land in Kwekwe, they arrived in a plane load of people at the airport in Harare, where they were attended to by several people to facilitate their entry. Then there’s Inter city travel; we recess in Kwekwe._
Others complained that political elites were roaming around as if COVID-19 never existed.
Authorities argue that the lockdown is a precautionary measure since the variant has exhibited that it can spread rapidly, therefore, the protest might result in authorities reversing the decree.
Meanwhile, pictures that are circulating on social media suggest that it is business as usual in Kwekwe.
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- VP Chiwenga Announces Localised 14-day Lockdown For Kwekwe
- Kwekwe Mayor Urges Residents Not To Panic
- UPDATE On Returnee From India Who Succumbed To Covid-19 In Kwekwe
- Kwekwe COVID-19 Outbreak Preliminary Report {Full Text}
More: Pindula News; InsiderZim