11 December 2021
Vimbayi Mahachi
www.zimgbcmedia.co.zw
Since the fourth wave sunk its jaws into the country, covid-19 cases have soared.
Ever since the first infection of the coronavirus the country has never recorded over 5 000 new cases in a single day.
A whooping 5 189 new Covid-19 infections recorded on Thursday.
This has been the highest record of Covid-19 infections since the detection of the first case of Covid-19 case which took away the life of Zororo Makamba’s life last year in March.
The 4th wave of the Covid-19 variant driven by Omicron strain is spreading like wild fire in the country.
On Wednesday and Thursday sixteen criminal courts were closed across the country as infections are spreading at an exponential rate.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) confirmed that there have been cases of Covid-19 outbreak within their staff and that there will be temporary closure of some courts,
“…to allow disinfection of premises, testing and contact tracing.”
Hope is that contact tracing will be done diligently this time around because a snap survey by Zim GBC News reporters during the spread of the Delta variant prior to Omicron, no contact tracing was done.
Furthermore, the JSC articulated that Harare Civil and Criminal courts at Rotten Row, Tredgold Magistrates Court in Bulawayo and Regional Courts in Gwanda, Gweru, Plumtree, Mutare, Mbare, Kadoma, Goromonzi, Norton, Rusape, Mutawatawa, Inyathi, Chegutu, Shurugwi and Chitungwiza will be temporarily closed.
“Business will resume on Friday, December 10. All matters set down for December 8 are automatically rolled over to Friday, December 10, while those set down for December 9 are automatically rolled over to Monday, December 13.”
The Minister of Health and Child Care Constantino Chiwenga last week admitted that Zimbabwe was in the grips of a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections. President Emmerson Mnangagwa on November 30 announced new restrictions for all arrivals, including a mandatory 10-day quarantine but suprisingly the measures were never implemented.
Despite the spike in infections, deaths have remained low with three reported on Thursday.
The neighbouring Botswana, one of the first countries to detect the highly infectious but seemingly mild Omicron variant says it has not seen a rise in Covid-19 hospitalisations.
“Currently we only have one person in ICU (intensive care),” Health Minister Edwin Dikoloti told a news conference.
Meanwhile Bulawayo has been hit by a strange strain of a flu bug.
The flu symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, chest congestion, runny nose, headache and fatigue.
Many fear that the flu could be related to the newly discovered Covid-19 Variant Omicron. The strange flu that has been affecting both young and old lately.
Zim GBC News