Zimbabwe to start coronavirus lockdown on Monday

Zimbabwe will enter a state of lockdown for three weeks starting Monday in a bid to control the spread of coronavirus, the country’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced. 

All Zimbabweans will be required to stay at home for the duration of the lockdown, except to buy food and access vital health services. 

Security forces will be used to ensure that the measures are enforced. 

Addressing the nation on Friday night, President Mnangagwa said that Zimbabwe should not be complacent over its relatively low number of cases. So far only five cases have been recorded and one death: 30-year-old journalist Zororo Makamba. 

The announcement came on the day that neighbouring South Africa embarked upon its own 21-day lockdown. 

There are 1,170 confirmed cases of coronavirus in South Africa and two people have died from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. 

Photo: AFP