Parliament Fear Election Under Lockdown

By Shingirai Vambe

Harare-As the country prepare for its General Elections set for August 23 2023, Zimbabwe Parliament heard, Covid-19 cases are on the rise and the Northern part of the country, Bulawayo is already having people in isolation.

Health and Child Care Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Ruth Labode, stood urging members and citizens to wear masks and observe Covid-19 rule and regulations as she witnessed people and young children already in isolation at Mpilo Hospital In Bulawayo.

“On a point of order. I am really sorry I have to say this. I was at Mpilo Hospital yesterday and I noticed in Bulawayo a lot of people were wearing masks and I asked. They said doctor can you go to Mpilo. I went to Mpilo and a doctor took me to an isolation centre which was supposed to be for cardiac diseases and it has been converted to isolate children with COVID”.

“He then said to me even pregnant mothers, because COVID is on the increase. If you do not trigger an alarm now, you will go to elections under lockdown,” Labode said.

Labode told the Post On Sunday that her fear is getting into election under lockdown or people in isolation.

She said as winter draws near, more and more cases will be recorded.

“If we already have a 3 year old child in isolation for Covid-19, it means more and more people have already been affected”.

“The Minister must declare now that start wearing masks because COVID is back. For sure COVID is back and it does not want elections,” added Labode.

This is coming weeks after the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared that Covid-19 was no longer an emergency. however, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, countries must and should continue observing the Covid-19 regulations as well as monitoring WHO Downward review on Covid-19, No Longer A Health Emergency.

The COVID death rate has slowed from a peak of more than 100,000 people per week in January 2021 to just over 3,500 in the week to April 24, 2023, according to WHO data, reflecting widespread vaccination, availability of better treatments and a level of population immunity from prior infections.