Zimbabwe has gone for more than a week without recording new COVID-19 cases as the country has intensified the containment of the spread of the virus which has reached four million cases worldwide.
The country partially returned to normalcy after President Emmerson Mnangagwa eased lockdown restrictions which saw the informal sector returning to work.
The Ministry of Health says it has increased detection, testing and screening efforts countrywide.
“Cumulatively, a total of 8 244 rapid screen tests, 7 808 PCR diagnostics tests have been done to date. Today (Wednesday) 564 rapid screening tests and 667 PCR tests were done, in the public institutions.
“All the PCR tests done were negative for Covid-19. Therefore, to date, Zimbabwe has 34 confirmed cases, including five recoveries and four deaths,” reads the update.
Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba Thursday said although there have been no new cases in recent days, there should be no let-up in the strict measures adopted by the government.
“As the world Coronavirus infections creep towards the 4 million-mark, let us rejoice as Zimbabweans that we have gone through a whole week of no new cases. The Good Lord continues to smile on us. But there should not be any let up on stringent measures we have adopted,” Charamba.
The Ministry further reiterated that they were continuing with the implementation of a comprehensive response approach to the pandemic, inclusive of prevention and intensified surveillance to ensure early case detection, timely testing, isolation and appropriate case management.