'Impossible To Enforce A Lockdown In A Dead Economy Like Zimbabwe'

The Zimbabwean government has hitherto been reluctant to enforce a lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 even though the country has three (officially) confirmed cases.

A social commentator, Elijah Mangwengwende opines that enforcing a lockdown will be impossible because of Zimbabwe’s collapsed economy. Posting on Facebook, he wrote:

Enforcing lockdown in a dead economy like Zimbabwe is going to be a mammoth task and impossible. Because of mismanagement and corruption by ZANU PF since 1980, people are already dying from hunger and many other curable diseases. How are they going to force hungry people to stay indoors?

Either way, they are going to die from hunger or coronavirus. So people are going to try to go out and find food for their starving children and spread the virus in the process. Only God is going to have mercy upon us…

Meanwhile, South Africa will commence a 21-day lockdown at midnight this Thursday, with the country’s Police Minister Bheki Cele warning that any person who contravenes the regulations of the nationwide lockdown will be guilty of a criminal offence and will be liable to a fine or imprisonment, or both.