The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) said the national COVID-19 lockdown will not achieve its intended objective of flattening the COVID-19 curve due to non-compliance by citizens.
In a statement on Saturday, ZADHR indicated there were non-essential businesses operating and inter-city travel still going on in contravention of coronavirus containment measures. The statement read in part:
The current lockdown measures announced by the government, though welcome, may not provide the much-needed impact in breaking the Covid-19 chain of transmission and help in flattening the Covid- 19 curve.
In a snap survey conducted by ZADHR on the 1st day of the lockdown, many non-essential retailers were in operation across the country.
Additionally, human traffic was witnessed at the country’s borders and in inter-provincial travels.
ZADHR also urged the government to adopt a science-based approach in crafting lockdown measures, such as limiting human movement for a period of 14 to 21 days, identify provincial hotspots and put in place local lockdown measures depending on the incidence of COVID-19.