Kwekwe begins localised lockdown

Source: Kwekwe begins localised lockdown | The Herald

Freedom Mupanedemo
Midlands Bureau
Kwekwe City’s intensified localised lockdown came into full swing yesterday, with a heavy police presence in the central business district, coupled with strict enforcement of existing general Covid-19 regulations for those entering shops and banking halls.

Service providers such as ZESA did not allow more than five people inside banking halls to ensure social distancing.

Zupco buses also spread out passengers on buses from yesterday, meaning many residents took a long time to get to the outer suburbs.

“We have been asked to make sure that we sanitise commuters getting into the bus and to limit them to two passengers per seat.

“We are strictly adhering to that because that is the first thing they check at police roadblocks to ensure we are compliant, said Mr Alfonse Mushayi, a Zupco driver plying the City-Mbizo route.

The Herald also established that shop owners were in compliance with the lockdown directive, with most of them closing business for the day at 5pm since Saturday.

Kwekwe District Development Coordinator, Mr Fortune Mpungu, who is also the district Covid-19 taskforce chairperson, said they were happy with the level of compliance.

“The majority of the residents have taken heed of the localised lockdown and we are happy with this level of compliance. We had a very low human traffic in the CBD today with local companies and parastatals also moving in to cut on the number of employees at work,” he said.

Mr Mpungu said there were no reports of new infections as of yesterday, with the city only nursing 11 active cases, most of which were mild.

Government announced a localised two weeks lockdown for Kwekwe district following a confirmed fatal case of a variant, B.1.617.2 that was first identified in India.

Robson Kadenhe (76), has succumbed to the variant after being in contact with a niece who had travelled from India.

The intensification of the lockdown in Kwekwe district, with an extended curfew, ban on social gatherings and strict adherence to standard lockdown rules is designed to make it easier to check all potential contacts and to ensure that any chains of infection can be quickly stamped out.