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Two Zimbabwean government ministers died of Covid-19 within days, prompting the country to announce on Saturday its intention to further tighten lockdown measures.
On Friday evening, the government announced that Transport Minister Joel Matiza had died after falling ill with Covid-19, less than two days after the country lost Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo to the same illness .
So far, four government ministers have succumbed to coronavirus in Zimbabwe.
Several other ministers are fighting for their lives in a private hospital, according to unconfirmed media reports.
“We are in a dark cloud which we must clean up very soon,” Deputy Health Minister John Mangwiro told dpa.
Mangwiro has revealed plans to step up the current lockdown, which has been in place since early January and includes a strict nighttime curfew.
Restaurants, bars and gymnasiums have also been forced to close.
“We have seen people fail to adhere to the foreclosure rules announced earlier this month,” he added.
Zimbabwe has recorded 30,523 cases of infection since the start of the pandemic, including 962 deaths.
The numbers may seem relatively small compared to other countries. However, the epidemic is putting the country’s health system under considerable pressure.
Zimbabweans have taken to social media to blame President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his predecessor, the late Robert Mugabe, for the country’s dilapidated health infrastructure.
Health workers recently went on strike due to a lack of protective equipment and low wages.
Source: GNA
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