GOVERNMENT has tightened lockdown regulations following a spike in Covid-19 cases in the country with police starting to demand exemption letters from those entering city centres.

Only civil servants approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to provide essential service will report for work and the rest of the civil servants will remain in lockdown.

Government will now have the sole responsibility for inter-city travel for those that really require to travel.

The Central Mechanical and Engineering Department (CMED) will facilitate the fueling while Zupco buses will provide urban transportation.

Further, guidelines for the transport sector have been completed and are now being studied by Ministry of Health and Child Care to ensure that they are in line with protocols that curb the spread and transmission of Covid.

Police have noted an increase in violation of lockdown measures as people throw parties, drink from shebeens and unlicensed shops continue to operate.

In a media briefing yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the tightening of lockdown regulations was necessitated by the sharp increase in Covid-19 cases.

“In the last week alone, we have lost seven Zimbabwean lives to this grim reaper, Covid-19. This is a moment we all worked hard and prayed hard that it would not come, but it is here. My fellow Zimbabweans, we have to confront this reality that it will take you and I to keep ourselves safe.

“The cumulative number of confirmed local transmission cases has exponentially risen from 286 to 791 only in one week. The majority of these cases are being recorded in Bulawayo and Harare, surpassing imported cases in the former,” she said.

“Zimbabwe, we cannot afford to be complacent neither can we continue to put our lives at risk on the hope that somehow we can escape Covid-19. The reality is that as our infection cases increase our risk as a nation also increases. Covid-19 is now in our communities and we cannot ignore or run away from that fact. Our only hope is to stop being adventurous and comply with the preventative and protective measures.”

Minister Mutsvangwa said there was need for people to comply with the preventative and protective measures put in place by Government.

She said measures are being put in place to penalise those who flout isolation regulations while self-isolating at home.

The minister said positive Covid-19 returnees who are absconding from isolation facilities were endangering their families and communities.

Absconding from quarantine and isolation facilities is a level 12 offence under Covid-19 regulations and attracts up to one-year imprisonment.

Minister Mutsvangwa said the implementation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for discharging people from isolation has helped decongest isolation and quarantine facilities.

The Minister said Government continues to provide food to the vulnerable community members and those severely economically affected by this lockdown.

Government has released funds to 202 077 persons through cash transfers under the Covid-19 informal sector relief fund. This fund is targeting at least one million beneficiaries

Minister Mutsvangwa said clean and safe water remains a key element in the fight against Covid-19.

Treasury has released $20 million to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for drilling boreholes in schools. China Aid has also resumed borehole drilling in Masvingo and Manicaland provinces with priority being given to schools.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday said only people with exemption letters will be allowed to access city centres across the country with immediate effect.

He said security service presence at checkpoints and in residential areas will be beefed up countrywide for more effective enforcement of the law.

“The security services in the country, including the police and the army strongly warn the public of tightened lockdown regulations with immediate effect. People are becoming complacent.

“Just yesterday we arrested 1 478 people for violating Covid-19 lockdown regulations and most of these arrests include people who are walking aimlessly, failure to wear a mask in public, opening of unlicensed shops and shebeens among other offences.

“House parties continue to be a problem and people are drinking from bars and they close themselves inside and drink.

“They are not only risking themselves to infections, but their family members as well as they will go back to their homes so we will not tolerate that,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.

“Because of these increased violations of the Covid-19 regulations, we therefore notify the public that only those with exemption letters will be allowed into the central business district with immediate effect.

“Those in residential areas must only move when they have business to attend to and go back home.

“We have noted the increasing cases of Covid-19 and fatalities, and the increasing number of people escaping from quarantine centres. We, therefore, shall enforce tightened lockdown measures for the safety of the public.”

He said the security services routinely review their lockdown enforcement activities, which was mainly based on the conduct of the public.