by Tawanda Chiweshe

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appealed to Zimbabweans to obey the measures put in place by Government to fight the spread of COVID-19 following a surge in infections and fatalities in the wake of the just-ended festive season.

Posting on his official Twitter handle yesterday, the President who is currently on his annual break, urged members of the public to avoid unnecessary travel and gatherings. Travel has been noted to be one of the major means by which the virus has been spreading among people.

“Zimbabwe is entering a second lockdown to stop the spread of a COVID-19 second wave. Please, for the sake of your family and loved ones, avoid large gatherings and non-essential travel,” the President said.

President Mnangagwa encouraged citizens to give the extra spurt of effort required to bring the spread of the virus under control.

“This is the final push - let’s defeat this virus for good,” he said.

The President’s message came against the background of surging statistics of the pandemic. During the festive season, Zimbabwe recorded 1 342 new infections and 19 deaths. According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s situational report for 5 January 2021, 1 365 new cases and 34 deaths were recorded in the preceding 24 hours. This brought the cumulative total number of infections to 17 194 cases and 418 deaths.

The report noted that 11 813 people had recovered from the pandemic, resulting in an active cases tally of 4 963. As at the same date, the national recovery rate was at 69 percent.