Health and Child Care Deputy Minister John Mangwiro has said the upsurge in COVID-19 cases and deaths being recorded in the country is attributed to uncontrolled movements of people during the festive season.
Zimbabwe has been recording over 700 new coronavirus cases every day over the past few days with daily COVID-19 related deaths hovering above 50.
On Wednesday, 20 January 2021, the country recorded 733 new cases from 4 418 PCR tests as well as 54 deaths. All the 733 cases were local cases.
There are fears that the highly infectious coronavirus variant detected in South Africa at the end of last year may be responsible for the exponential rise in cases as thousands of Zimbabwe returned home for the festive season.
Dr Mangwiro said all people both in rural and urban areas are at equal risk of being infected by the viral disease.
He called for adherence to laid down COVID-19 preventative measures such as masking up, washing of hands, sanitising and maintaining social distance and limiting travel.
Dr Mangwiro added that people with underlying conditions such as those suffering from asthma, High Blood Pressure (Hypertensive), diabetes, obesity and heart problems, among others were at high risk because their immune system is not at its peak level.