Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care chairperson Ruth Labode has called on the government to open the land borders.
Zimbabwe closed its land borders in January this year when it imposed the current lockdown.
The lockdown was meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 coming following a surge in new cases in December.
Unsupported data had indicated that the new cases were a result of returning residents, especially from South Africa.
However, in an interview, Honourable Labode said it was time to open the border lest people die of hunger.
“As far as I am concerned, opening borders is a risk that we have to take because if people don’t die of COVID-19 they will die of hunger. And the industry will close and the turnaround to open them will be another story.
“We are vaccinating people, we are in the process of vaccination and we have reduced our cases to 50. Yes there is a variant that is coming from South Africa but from what I hear, the variant is not that it doesn’t respond to the current drugs but it means you could in some cases get the COVID-19 even after vaccination but it will end at mild stage only, the flue stage you may not even go for treatment,” she said.
Honourable Labode added, “So for me its time we begun to think we may have to learn to live with COVID-19 in some form or another. We have to live with it. So I know there are quite a few doctors who feel its wrong to open the border but I think its time to open the border, people may die of hunger than COVID-19 if we are not careful,” she said.
Meanwhile, President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to update the nation any time from today on the status of the lockdown.
Some people such as former Harare Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni is of the view that lockdown should be extended by another week. Get more Covid-19 Stats from CovidZW.info #WhereAreOurVaccinesZW #OpenCovidContracts
It’s time to open our borders: Labode
