Chaos and frustration in Zimbabwe’s capital city Harare as major police roadblocks prevent movement on the first day on the retuned hard lockdown.
Hundreds of people were denied entry into the city centre with police turning them back, citing the new COVID-19 regulations.
Vice President and Health Minister, Constantino Chiwenga announced the hard lockdown on Saturday, saying the number of new infections has doubled in the last two months.
Chaos, frustrations in Zimbabwe as major police roadblocks prevent movement:
The country has recorded nearly 16 000 cases and over 380 deaths.
Long snaking queues of vehicles can be seen across the city as motorists are restricted to move beyond their residential areas. All workplaces, except for essential services, have been shut down and a curfew of 6PM to 6AM has been imposed.
Supermarkets and other operational businesses are to close at 3PM each day.
Some school children who were supposed to write their final examinations were prevented from going to school even though the new guidelines allow for it. Parents and students are now seeking clarity on how they will make up for missed exams.
Ambushed
On Sunday, Zimbabweans said they felt ambushed by the renewed 30-day hard lockdown in response to rising COVID-19 deaths and infections in the country. Zimbabwe extended their nationwide curfew, banned gatherings and ordered non-essential businesses closed for a month in an effort to curb a surge in coronavirus infections.
Some Zimbabweans reacted with shock following the reintroduction of stiff restrictions.
“Why ambush us. They could have given us two weeks or so… so that we can decide what we do? Now we don’t have food, we have nothing so how can we survive? It doesn’t make sense. It’s going to be tough money is not circulating. Obviously, the crime rate is going to increase because we have nothing to eat and nothing to feed our children. Only cockroaches are in our kitchens so we have to go and break the law in order to survive. We have not been expecting it. It is unacceptable,” one of them said.
Zimbabwe residents react to life under full lockdown:
