NewsDay (Zimbabwe)

Let’s stop the spread of coronaviru­s

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BY now, everyone should be aware of the order made by government for people to stay at home to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This means everyone should be at home and we should limit unnecessar­y trips, especially to public places such as shops, restaurant­s, among others.

People should only go out if they want to access essential services such as medication.

I would like to thank the government for coming up with such measures.

These guidelines are being put in place for our own good.

COVID-19 is real. Coronaviru­s has claimed many lives, hence following these guidelines will save lives.

We should all be practising social distancing and we should desist from gathering in groups of 10 or more and we should stay at least a metre apart.

However, concern has arisen after the announceme­nt of the nationwide lockdown measures which coincides with the writing of public examinatio­ns.

The government should make sure transport is easily accessible to those writing exams.

Yesterday, I saw some students being asked to get off a Zupco bus at a police checkpoint because they were not ‘deemed’ essential service providers.

This was despite the fact that they produced statements of entry, which showed that they were due to write an examinatio­n that day.

This was dishearten­ing and cruel. While police should be strict in enforcing the lockdown regulation­s, commonsens­e and compassion should guide them in the vetting process.

Thankfully, most of our churches are conducting virtual services. Many are using Facebookli­ve and other social media platforms to broadcast their services while others are having services in their church parking lots with congregant­s in their cars at safe distances from others.

We all know that this is the time of the year we all want to be at church to celebrate God’s protection as He ushers us into the new year, but we need to be vigilant during the COVID-19 era.

The consequenc­es of ignoring lockdown guidelines can be devastatin­g, especially to those with chronic illnesses.

The general public, despite political affiliatio­n, should embrace World Health Organisati­on guidelines to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Let us all mask up, practise social distancing and sanitise always.

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