Zimbabwe and Ghana are set become the latest countries in Africa to impose full or partial lockdowns.
Zimbabwe, where there have been seven confirmed cases and one death, begins a 21-day stay-at-home period today. At the same time, Ghana’s two biggest cities, Accra and Kumasi, will go into lockdown for a fortnight.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa had announced that the country will go into lockdown from today in an effort to control the spread of coronavirus.
So far, the country has recorded five cases and one death, 30-year-old journalist Zororo Makamba.
The low number of cases though “need not induce complacency”, Mnangagwa said in an address to the nation. For three weeks from Monday (today), Zimbabweans will be required to stay at home, except to buy food and access vital health services.
Security forces will be used to ensure that the lockdown is enforced.
The president’s announcement came on the day that neighbouring South Africa began its own 21-day lockdown.
There are 1,170 cases of coronavirus in South Africa and two people have died from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Earlier, the central bank said people could use US dollars again, reversing last year’s ban on foreign currencies, a move aimed at supporting the already struggling economy against the effects of coronavirus.