Level 2 COVID-19 Lockdown Extended
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday extended the Level Two national COVID-19 lockdown by a further two weeks.
There were no further relaxations of the lockdown measures as the Government seeks to control social contact while increasing the pace of the national vaccination programme.
The third wave has been put under control but authorities are wary of a fourth wave considering that each wave of coronavirus infections is longer and worse than the previous.
Addressing the media last night after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa announced the continuation of the lockdown under the current measures. She said:
Cabinet would also like to announce the extension of the Level 2 lockdown by an additional two weeks to enable all to heighten vaccination uptake in order to protect the nation against a possible fourth wave of the pandemic.
Mutsvangwa added that while the pandemic remained under control, there is a need for the public to remain vigilant to avert a spike in new infections. She said:
In general, therefore, this indicates that the national response measures instituted by Government continue to pay off and that the pandemic is being brought under control.
Government, nonetheless, continues to call upon citizens to strictly observe the national and World Health Organisation (WHO) COVID-19 protocols as well as to get vaccinated to prevent a 4th wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.
On vaccines, Mutsvangwa revealed that to date, the Government has imported more than 13 million doses. She said:
On the procurement of vaccines, it is advised that 435 600 doses were received on 5 November 2021, bringing the cumulative number of vaccines received to date to 13 258 000 doses.
Government takes this opportunity to assure the nation that most of the country’s vaccines still have some years to go before expiration.
To date, more than 3.5 million people have received the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while more than 2.7 million others have been fully vaccinated.
