Zimbabweans braced on 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.”
We are supposed to stock up enough things to last us 21 days, but most of us live on what we earn daily, so we only manage a few groceries. I can see us facing tough times ahead,” said Sayeed.
The cash-strapped government will not be able to cushion businesses against the lockdown.
“If they failed to buy ventilators for the treatment centres, where will they get the money to shore up small businesses which are in the majority?” Sayeed asked.
Sayeed said his business would take a knock, but he did not dare ignore the lockdown, which will be imposed with both police and military patrols.