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The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) has embraced the new COVID-19 measures announced by Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Dr. Constantino Chiwenga on Saturday.
The measures came amid the surge in new cases which had seen 596 new cases and 26 deaths in the last 7 days as of yesterday as compared to the same period in May 2021 where the country had 132 new cases and 6 deaths recorded.
Some of the new measures include the banning of all gatherings except funerals which will be limited to 30; business to operate from 8 am to 6 pm instead of the 8am to 7pm schedule. Businesses are mandated to ensure that they limit the number of clients in their shops to maintain physical distancing.
“There are also targeted lockdowns in hotspots. The new measures are necessary in light of the rising new cases. President Emmerson Mnangagwa is on record saying it is better to save people as the economy would be resuscitated later.
“As Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR), we embrace the measures and pledge that we will limit the number of clients in our shops as per the directive. We applaud the government for embarking on targeted lockdowns instead of wholesale lockdowns which have been used in the past. This will also give breathing space for businesses,” Mr. Denford Mutashu, the CZR President said.
However, the retailers are requesting the government to put timelines on when the measures would end for planning purposes like it has done in the past despite that there were extensions.
“Notwithstanding this, CZR urges the public and business community to do more in fighting Covid19 as our behaviours determine the actions government applies in order to safeguard the health of the nation. We are in this together,” Mr. Mutashu added.