(Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe’s government scaled down operations amid a second wave of coronavirus infections, with only 10% of its workers available in offices until Feb. 5.
Essential services will be offered by staff exempted from the southern African country’s 30-day lockdown, government spokesman Nick Mangwana said in an interview on Thursday. The remainder who have online access will work from home, he said.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa imposed restrictions, including a dawn-to-dusk curfew, and closed all non-essential businesses on Jan. 3 after a spike in virus-related deaths since December. Officials attribute the increase to citizens visiting from neighboring countries over the festive season. More than 3 million Zimbabweans are estimated to be based in South Africa.
“We cannot shut down government completely, so we have to do our best to ensure government work continues,” Mangwana said. “But we have to minimize contact among workers by taking all possible precautions.”
Zimbabwe had 30,047 reported cases of Covid-19 with 917 deaths as of Jan. 21. Among the fatalities are senior government officials, including former Foreign Affairs Minister Sibusiso Moyo and Ellen Gwaradzimba, the provincial minister for Manicaland.
Thousands of people have been arrested for violating the lockdown and some have been jailed, according to police spokesman Paul Nyathi.
Read: Zimbabwe Health Minister Denies Hospitals Overwhelmed by Virus
Últimas Noticias
Debanhi Escobar: they secured the motel where she was found lifeless in a cistern
Members of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in Nuevo León secured the Nueva Castilla Motel as part of the investigations into the case
The oldest person in the world died at the age of 119
Kane Tanaka lived in Japan. She was born six months earlier than George Orwell, the same year that the Wright brothers first flew, and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize
Macabre find in CDMX: they left a body bagged and tied in a taxi
The body was left in the back seats of the car. It was covered with black bags and tied with industrial tape
The eagles of America will face Manchester City in a duel of legends. Here are the details
The top Mexican football champion will play a match with Pep Guardiola's squad in the Lone Star Cup
Why is it good to bring dogs out to know the world when they are puppies
A so-called protection against the spread of diseases threatens the integral development of dogs
