Zim sees decline in holiday travellers

ZIMBABWE has seen a reduced number of visitors and returnees this festive season after the Government introduced stringent quarantine regulations to contain a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections.

Statistics from the Department of Immigration show that Beitbridge, the country’s busiest port of entry, is currently clearing an average of 2 000 people a day compared to around 15 000 before Covid-19.

The Government introduced Covid-19 PCR tests for all returnees, and 10-days quarantine for those who test positive.

Responding to questions from The Sunday Mail, assistant regional immigration officer in charge of Beitbridge, Mr Nqobile Ncube, said there has been a sharp decrease in traffic this festive season due to the quarantine measures in place.

“We used to receive an average of 600 000 people pre-Covid-19, but this was reduced to 135 000 last December.

“We do not anticipate any upsurge due to the current stringent quarantine regulations in place,” he said.

Mr Ncube added that they were working in line with Port Health regulations to mitigate the spread of the highly infectious virus.

“We stand guided by Port Health in the safety measures, but we have upped the ante in terms of staff awareness, mask use, working area decontamination and safe handling processes.

“In the interim we are ready to handle any traffic levels that might come through,” he said.