14 January 2022
Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube
Lindie Dube
The Acting President who is also the Minister of Health and Child Care, has extended the current lockdown by a further two weeks after which schools are set to open.
The extension follows President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s New Year’s Eve announcement on the postponed opening of learning institutions, exclusive for those sitting for the outstanding Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations which commenced on the 3rd of January.
Members of the public were caught unawares by the postponement of this year’s first school term.
The delay was nessesary so as to try and curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, which was being driven by the recently discovered Omicron variant said to be more infectious than its predecessor, the Delta variant.
The press statement is circulating on the microblogging site WhatsApp, which has also been confirmed through a tweet by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services, Nick Mangwana.
In the statement Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said,
“Schools should be given at least one week after the next two-weeks lockdown extension, to put preventative public health measures in place before the commencement of the general school calendar depending on the prevailing Covid-19 situation at the time.”
The statement went on to encourage the continued observation of Covid-19 protocols such as the wearing of masks in the class. All those legible for vaccination have been encouraged to do so before the schools calender resume.
As at 13 January 2022, Zimbabwe had 225 084 confirmed cases, including 203 308 recoveries and 5 222 deaths. To date, a total of 4 192 768 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19.