The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Nick Mangwana has hinted that Harare and Bulawayo may be totally shut down following a sharp rise in coronavirus cases recorded in the two provinces.
Some, however, view this as a desperate measure to cripple the much-publicised #ZanuPFMustGo and #July31 protests slated for the 31st of July.
The protests were first called by Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume to mark the second anniversary of a disputed election which President Mnangagwa’s rivals say he stole.
Other opposition leaders including main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and Temba Mliswa have endorsed the demonstrations.
The government previously responded with sheer force to massive protests – in August 2018 and January 2019, with over two dozen people losing their lives. Posting on Twitter, Mangwana said:
Harare has the vast majority of Covid-19 cases. Yesterday (Tuesday), Bulawayo recorded 30 of the 53 positive cases. If there is any scaling up of containment measures, a more surgical approach is better. It means full-scale lockdown should only apply to Harare and Bulawayo.
Zimbabwe first introduced a national total lockdown on March 30 to contain the spread of the virus, but this has been eased and most businesses have been allowed to re-open.
Cases have recently spiked mainly in Harare and Bulawayo with a Wednesday statement by the Ministry of Health observing that coronavirus cases were now at 885.
More: ZimLive