Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Sunday announced that the government has decided to extend the lockdown by two weeks to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, reported Reuters. He, however, confirmed that the mining companies, which generate the most foreign currency, would get back to work during the extended lockdown period.
During a live television broadcast, Mnangagwa said the lockdown would continue because the country had not yet met conditions set down by the World Health Organization to lift the measures, imposed on March 30.
Zimbabwe has confirmed 25 coronavirus cases, including three deaths, so far but health professionals have expressed fears that many infections still remain undetected due to limited testing.
“It has been a very hard decision that my government has had to take reluctantly,” the president said.
Mnangagwa said it is worrisome that country has reported a spike in the number of infections from single digits to the current 25.
“We are deeply worried that the virus is beginning to attack our children with more and more cases coming from local transmissions,” the president said.
Mnangagwa said the government would allow mining companies to resume full operations while manufacturers would work at limited capacity. Mining companies operating in Zimbabwe include local operations of Impala Platinum Holdings and Anglo American Platinum.
He added that the government had begun work on expanding testing across the country to gauge the magnitude of the problem and isolate cases early on.
The lockdown has left the people without an income as the country is reeling through the worst economic crisis in a decade after a devastating drought and cyclone last year.
Earlier this month, the United Nations food agency, World Food Programme (WFP), said it needed $130 million to fund emergency operations in Zimbabwe until August to prevent millions of people from plunging deeper into hunger.
