Harare - Zimbabwe will impose a
nationwide lockdown for 21 days from Monday to help curb the
spread of the coronavirus, and security forces may be deployed
to enforce it, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Friday.
The decision is seen as hurting an economy already struggling
with a drought, shortages of foreign exchange and a staggering
unemployment rate of over 90%, forcing people to survive on
informal trade.
Mnangagwa said in a live broadcast that only state and
health workers on duty will be exempted from the lockdown, while
funeral gatherings should not involve more than 50 people.
"Some of the measures will be drastic and are sure to upset
the daily routines of our lives. Should it become necessary,
security forces will be deployed to assist in the enforcement of
these measures," Mnangagwa said.
Nelson Chamisa, the main opposition leader and usually a
strident critic of Mnangagwa and his government, said he
supported the government's decision as Zimbabwe was "in
circumstances of a catastrophe."
"Politics aside, we must unite to save lives," Chamisa wrote
on Twitter.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/ZimLOC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ZimLOC
— nelson chamisa (@nelsonchamisa)
Zimbabwe has reported five confirmed coronavirus cases and
one death, although the opposition and other critics accuse the
government of understating the figures and of dragging its feet
in taking necessary action to halt the spread of the disease.
The 76-year-old president said the government was still
looking at ways to support the economy to avert two successive
years of recession, after a 6% contraction last year.
Most Zimbabweans eke out a living hawking goods on the
street, and a shutdown will leave many without an income or
food, analysts say.
A young girl walks past a shopping stall in Harare, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's public hospital doctors went on strike over what they called a lack of adequate protective gear as the coronavirus begins to spread in a country whose health system has almost collapsed. Picture: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP
Last week Mnangagwa announced measures to curb the movement
of people, but it has largely been business as usual in Zimbabwe
so far, with informal markets and businesses remaining open and
public transport continuing to operate.
A health worker screens and sanitises visitors to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outside a hospital in Harare. Picture: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters
Earlier, a Zimbabwean billionaire offered health workers new
support, including life insurance and cash, after nurses and
some doctors walked out over a lack of protective clothing for
treating people suffering from the coronavirus.