CLAIM: President Mnangagwa announced new lockdown measures on December 9
SOURCE: Viral social media messages
VERDICT: Not true. No new measures have been announced yet.
A viral social media message claims that President Emmerson Mnangagwa “officially announced today (09/12/21) that Zimbabwe will be under level 8 lockdown as from Monday (13/12/21) and curfew starts at 18:00.”
According to the message, government has ordered the closure of all recreational facilities and borders, and also banned all intercity travel. The message also claims that all non-governmental organisations have been closed.
This is not true. The President did not issue a new order on the date claimed in the message. His last announcement was on November 30. In that address, in which some restrictions were announced, he said the measures would be reviewed in two weeks. That period lapses on December 14.
ZimFact has reached out to the Ministry of Information, who confirmed that the President had not issued any new measures as claimed in the message.
Current COVID-19 measures include:
- PCR tests for all travelers on arrival, as well as 10-day mandatory quarantine at an approved site
- 9PM-6AM curfew
- Shops open from 7AM-7PM
- No liquor consumption at bottle stores, while bars can only admit vaccinated clients
- Restaurants close at 7PM
Zimbabwe is currently experiencing rising COVID-19 infections.
On Thursday, December 9, the number of new cases reached 5189, the highest daily number of infections since the pandemic started. There were three deaths recorded, according to the Ministry of Health’s daily update. There were 257 people hospitalised for COVID-19 treatment. Most of these patients, 235, had mild symptoms.
Conclusion
A social media message claiming that the Government has issued new COVID-19 measures is misleading. As of December 9, the date of the claim, no new announcement had been made. Measures announced on November 30 remain in force for now.
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