Zimbabwe braces for 21-day coronavirus lockdown

Zimbabweans braced Sunday for a three-week lock-down to curb the spread of the coronavirus which has killed one person so far and infected six others, and for many the lockdown means tough times ahead.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a 21-day "total" lockdown from Monday that will curtail movement within the country, shut most shops and banks, and suspend flights in and out of Zimbabwe.

With independent sources saying the official number of infections is understated, the spread of COVID-19 could prove devastating for a country whose economy is crippled by hyperinflation and whose social health care systems are crumbling.

Poor rains have exacerbated the crisis, with half of the 15-million-strong population facing severe food shortages.

"We are not against the lockdown," said Isaac Sayeed, who runs a stationery stall in the capital, Harare.

"But 21 days is rather too long. We already have shortages of basic foodstuffs," he said.

The looming lockdown has triggered panic-buying and a spike in prices, adding more upward pressure to an inflation rate that currently stands at 540 percent.

Price of cooking gas shot up almost 50 percent overnight.Long queues have formed in supermarkets as people rush to buy whatever they can afford."
Economist Prosper Chitambara of the Labour and Economic Research Institute of Zimbabwe think-tank also warned that the impact of the lockdown would be "severe in terms of livelihoods. We are a highly informalised economy."
"Most people have no access to social protection and companies are not getting the huge bailouts that those in other countries are getting."
"While we are aware of the disastrous effects of the lockdown on the economy, we are faced with a choice whether its better to save lives and rebuild tomorrow."