The government has confirmed that the new South African Covid-19 variant is now dominating local cases of the dreaded pandemic.
Briefing the media yesterday, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa said that there is now a 61% dominance of the new South African variant.
“Results of the genomic sequencing recently conducted indicate that the type of Covid-19 virus that the nation had in 2020 has receded. There is now a 61% dominance of the new South African variant of the Covid-19 virus which spreads faster and has a higher fatality rate,” Mutsvangwa said.
Mutsvangwa said the nation now needs to be more vigilant than before and adhere to Covid-19 prevention and control measures.
“Security personnel have therefore been directed to intensify monitoring and enforcement in order to enhance compliance,” she said.
“Vaccines are being sourced from manufacturers, through multiple financing arrangements. Vaccines are registered by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, in terms of Section 75 of the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act. A committee is implementing vaccine vigilance plans to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine consignments are physically verified for the implementation of safety measures,” she added.
The country has recorded 35 045 cases and 1 393 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
