CLAIM: You will now need to show a vaccination card to be allowed to pass police roadblocks mounted on highways leading into Harare
VERDICT: False
On Monday, July 5th, a message went viral on WhatsApp claiming that members of the police force mounting roadblocks on highways leading into Harare have denied passage into the capital for anyone not carrying a COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
This is not true, according to the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
“This is false information. I answered that question to journalists yesterday,” ZRP spokesman Paul Nyathi told ZimFact.
Earlier, Nick Mangwana, Permanent Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, tweeted that the roadblocks had been mounted only because intercity travel had been banned under measures that were announced on June 29.
Mangwana said: “On reports of long queues of vehicles bottlenecked at roadblocks trying to get into Harare. Mazowe and Mutoko are cases in point. The short response is that, intercity is banned fellow citizens. Very few people who are providing an essential service should be travelling.”
As of July 5, a total of 797 715 people in the country had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 571 721 had completed the vaccination programme by getting their second dose. The country has so far authorised vaccines from Sinovac and Sinopham of China, as well as Covaxin from India and Sputnik V from Russia.
Conclusion:
COVID-19 vaccination certificates are not required when entering Harare, according to the police. However, the police are enforcing COVID-19 regulations that restrict travel between cities to only essential services.
There is no legal basis for the police to demand proof of vaccination at checkpoints.
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