by Grace Chekai
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has revealed that the Consular Office in Johannesburg has re-opened following the temporary closure due to the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa.
Tweeting on its Twitter handle yesterday, the Ministry posted, “Following the temporary closure of our Consular Office in Jo-burg, the Ministry wishes to advise members of the public that the office has since opened for urgent consular services such as the Temporary Travel Documents and repatriation services.”
The Ministry confirmed that the premises had been decontaminated twice and the preventive measures and disinfection routines upgraded.
The consulate is now open for repatriation of bodies to Zimbabwe and issuance of Temporary Travel Documents for Zimbabweans wishing to come back home.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) South Africa in partnership with IOM Zimbabwe, is working to provide technical assistance to the Zimbabwean Embassy to facilitate the return of stranded and vulnerable migrants in South Africa.
The support includes coordination of pre-departure arrangements, conducting pre-embarkation medical checks, distribution of COVID-19 related information and organisation of travel arrangements.
The Zimbabwe Government established 64 isolation centres for returnees to be assessed of COVID-19 before being allowed to leave for their homes.
The mandatory quarantine period is 21 days, with testing being conducted on the 1st, 8th and 21st days, according to the Government`s latest testing plan for returning residents and international travellers.
The Zimbabwe Government continues to be on high alert on the prevention of the COVID-19 virus. Citizens are constantly reminded to continue to abide by WHO regulations to stop the spread of the virus.
To date, the country has 530 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, 123 have recovered, 401 active cases and 6 deaths.
Five cases of those who tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, were all returnees from South Africa and all have been isolated.
