PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa Thursday launched his government\u2019s Coronavirus National Preparedness and Response Plan, a move that is set to prepare Zimbabwe in the fight against a virus that has been declared a global pandemic.<\/p>\n
Speaking during the State House launch ceremony also attended by Vice President Kembo Mohadi, UN Country Coordinator, Maria Ribeiro; WHO Representative to Zimbabwe, Alex Gasasira, Cabinet ministers, members of the diplomatic corps and development partners, Mnangagwa said no country was immune to the virus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear that no country is immune to this virus as 7 out of 16 countries in the Sadc region have confirmed cases with Zambia having been confirmed its first two cases on Wednesday,\u201d he said<\/p>\n
Mnangagwa also said there was need to step up the preparedness and response plan due to the volume of traffic between Zimbabwe and the other countries in the Southern Region.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut considering the volume of traffic between Zimbabwe and other countries in our region and internationally, we need to step up and enhance our preparedness and response to the scourge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also urged all stakeholders to contribute to the national cause of preventing Covid-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a call to action, so every sector and every individual must be involved in this national response to Covid-19. I would like to acknowledge assistance to Zimbabwe by the People\u2019s Republic of China and the UK government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mnangagwa said the Covid-19 bug was now slowing down economic activities in the country and the world over.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last few weeks, we have seen a dramatic decline in the economic activities of our major trading partners, a drop in international tourism and severe instability across the globe due to this pandemic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Last week, parliament\u2019s health committee conducted an oversight visit to the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport and heard that the rate of travellers coming into Zimbabwe had gone down by 30 percent, signalling a drop in international tourism.<\/p>\n
Mnangagwa said his government was committed to tackling the virus as the surveillance and early detection mechanisms have been put in place.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Government is very much committed to stopping COVID-19 following declaration of this outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern by WHO,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Government, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care, has put in place measures to minimise the import of COVID-19 into the country and ensure health safety to all citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe National Emergency Prepared and Response mechanism for surveillance and early detection of any possible cases was activated and will remain active until after WHO has removed the global health alert.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis pandemic surpasses all that we have experienced before. Around 200 000 people have tested positive globally and around 7000 have died worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Government has come up with a US$26 million budget to finance strategies aimed at combating the possible outbreak and spread of the virus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa Thursday launched his government\u2019s Coronavirus National Preparedness and Response Plan, a move that is set to prepare Zimbabwe in the fight against a virus that has been declared a global pandemic. Speaking during the State House launch ceremony also attended by Vice President Kembo Mohadi, UN Country Coordinator, Maria Ribeiro; WHO Representative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":20759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,12],"tags":[34,395],"class_list":["post-20905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-emmerson-mnangagwa","tag-presidency"],"yoast_head":"\n