Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who doubles as the Minister of Health and Child Care imposed a lockdown on Kwekwe, a city in Midlands after a COVID-19 scare and now a protest has been launched.
The lockdown came after a coronavirus variant first detected in India was detected in the gold mining town and over a dozen people including the family of a returnee from India had contracted the variant.
Some who are opposed to the Kwekwe lockdown launched a protest saying the move was not warranted considering that the whole of the Midlands province has only 25 active cases.
They observe that Harare which has 384, Bulawayo 74 and Matebeleland North which has 58 were never put under lockdown.
There has been an increase of only seven cases in the Midlands over the past week though no new case was reported Saturday.
The lockdown in Kwekwe effective from 21 May entails:
One commentator said:
_I’m puzzled, the intention is good but The so-called ‘source’ didn’t land in Kwekwe, they arrived in a plane load of people at the airport in Harare, where they were attended to by several people to facilitate their entry. Then there’s Inter city travel; we recess in Kwekwe._
Others complained that political elites were roaming around as if COVID-19 never existed.
Authorities argue that the lockdown is a precautionary measure since the variant has exhibited that it can spread rapidly, therefore, the protest might result in authorities reversing the decree.
Meanwhile, pictures that are circulating on social media suggest that it is business as usual in Kwekwe.
More: Pindula News; InsiderZim
