Staff Reporter
Cabinet yesterday deferred the re-opening of schools by two weeks following a surge in COVID-19 cases.
This was revealed by Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa during a Post Cabinet Media Briefing in Harare.
Schools were initially scheduled to open on 28 June 2021.
“In view of the regional and local upsurge of cases, the nation is informed that Cabinet approved that the reopening of schools and other learning institutions be delayed by 14 days. Government will be monitoring the situation and a review would be made after two weeks,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
As at 21 June, 2021, the Minister revealed that Zimbabwe’s cumulative COVID-19 cases stood at 41 449, with 37 184 recoveries and 1 672 deaths. The recovery rate stands at 89.7%, with 95.6% of COVID-19 positive cases being attributable to local transmission. The number of active cases stands at 2 923.
The Minister noted that the surge is mostly attributable to the general complacency in adhering to the set COVID-19 preventive and precautionary measures both in the communities and at workplaces.
“Cabinet noted, with concern that the surge reported the previous week continued, with a total of 1 239 cases recorded during the period under review, compared to 544 reported the previous week. This represents a 127% increase. The majority of cases were recorded in Hurungwe (364); Kariba (217); Chiredzi (185); and Makonde (51). Health authorities have designated these areas hotspots, and localized lockdowns have been declared in Hurungwe and Kariba,” she said.
Minister Mutsvangwa said, strengthening of critical care in admitting facilities (HDU/ICU), ensuring oxygen availability in admitting centres, ensuring availability of critical care equipment, and cascading critical care training are some of the measures being implemented to lower the Case Fatality Rate.
“Furthermore, measures are being put in place to guarantee the availability of essential services through telemedicine, integrated outreach, and equipping existing treatment centres with monitoring equipment, medications and PPEs. In addition, Cabinet agreed that Home Based Care will be strengthened by accelerating the introduction of the concept of a Virtual Hospital (Home Based Care),” she said.
Meanwhile Cabinet has directed the Vehicle Inspection Department (V.I.D) and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and other stakeholders to increase surveillance to enforce compliance with COVID-19 regulations for ZUPCO intercity and intra-urban services.
On procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, the Minister said Cabinet is pleased to report that arrangements are currently in progress to procure 2 million doses of vaccines from China. These are expected in the country by end of month.
500 000 doses of vaccines are expected to be delivered this Saturday, 26th June, 2021 as the fight against the deadly pandemic continues.
