Zimbabwe sets new Covid-19 mortality daily record with 70 deaths

Zimbabwe has set a new Covid-19 mortality daily record with 70 deaths reported on Monday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 1,075.

Caseload now at 31,646.

Zimbabwe breached what President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday described as the "grim mark" of a thousand coronavirus deaths yesterday.




While officials, who have admitted Covid-19 is now overrunning them, put on brave faces saying they will defeat it, the number of deaths keep on rising, showing failure to flatten the curve.

There are 326 new cases and all of them a local cases. Harare leads the death toll at 48, followed by Manicaland at 9.

President Mnangagwa recently assured the nation that Covid-19 would be defeated and told the nation that 'help is coming'.

At a time the Covid-19 death rate is spiraling out of control and other countries are scrambling for a limited supply of vaccines, Zimbabwe is taking its sweet time in deciding the vaccine it can acquire for citizens.

In the meanwhile, the government is negotiating with the Chinese for the Sinovac vaccine, but has been slow to  complete the required registration process.

President Mnangagwa's government is also yet to formally request the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the Covax vaccine scheme, exposing the government's lack of leadership in fighting the deadly pandemic.

According to well-placed sources, Zimbabwe has been moving at snail's pace in its registration for Sinovac. The sources said the country's ability to access the vaccine would depend on the efficiency of the Zimbabwean government.

Zimbabwe is yet to complete the registration process for the Chinese vaccine as lethargy continues to blight the official Covid-19 response at a time the country is battling a deadly second wave.

Zimbabwe is racing against time to secure Covid vaccines, at a time neighbouring South Africa has already bought 1.5 million doses from the Serum Institute of India while other vaccine rollout programmes in southern Africa have gathered pace.

Contrary to a recent report in a local weekly a fortnight ago which claimed that the country would begin a Covax vaccine rollout programme starting next month, the government has no plausible vaccine plan.