Zimbabwe: New coronavirus cases double in a day

By Felix Tih

ANKARA (AA) - Zimbabwe's coronavirus cases more than doubled in a day -- from 56 to 132 -- authorities said.

The 76 new cases were recorded in the cities of Beitbridge, Masvingo and capital Harare.

All new cases except one have been registered among returnees mainly from South Africa and Botswana, Nick Mangwana, a government spokesman said in a series of tweets late Wednesday.

He said only one case is a local transmission.

''Security is being tightened to ensure that those returning from abroad don't escape from quarantine facilities,'' he added.

Mangwana said the government has agreed to ''prioritize the funding of border roads, procurement of drones and other related technical equipment in order to enable enforcement agents to effectively monitor the country's borders.''

On May 16, Zimbabwe extended the country’s coronavirus lockdown for an indefinite period.

“Zimbabwe will, therefore, continue on the Level 2 lockdown for an indefinite period. We shall have regular two-week interval reviews to assess progress or lack of it,” President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a televised address.

“This should give us more time to strengthen our prevention and case management approaches.”

Besides the infections, Zimbabwe, which has a population of 14 million, has registered four virus-linked deaths and 25 recoveries, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

The pandemic has claimed more than 356,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since originating in China last December. The US, Brazil and Russia are currently the world’s worst-hit countries.

Some 5.7 million cases have been reported worldwide. As many as 2.35 million people have recovered so far, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.