Vice President Constantino Chiwenga says the arrival of the donated 200 000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China is a gleam of hope for the return to normalcy.
Due to the need of wanting to contain the spread of the COVID-10 virus, Zimbabwe has instituted lockdowns.
The lockdown is in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on curbing the spread of the novel virus.
When things were about to return to normal in December of 2020, the numbers of infections started to rise uncontrollably.
Faced with high infection death rates the country opted for a 30-day lockdown which was eventually extended by two weeks.
Lockdowns have not come cheap for Zimbabwe, whose majority of citizens rely on vending and some informal ventures.
Even the formal businesses also sent an SOS to the government to be given a window to operate.
Hope has arrived
Speaking at the airport after receiving the vaccines, Chiwenga said the jabs represent hope for better days economically.
“This is a timely donation your Excellency (Chinese Ambassador) given the recent ravages and tragedies that visited our nation through COVID-19 pandemic. You have been here, you have seen how our people have suffered from this pandemic.
“We receive this vaccine as a gleam of hope to the nation, that finally, we may be on the verge of returning to some semblance of normalcy that is what we are aiming to achieve.
“The vaccine also offers the possibility that our people who have borne the brunt of the economic ravages of the pandemic might finally turn a new page following the unfortunate interruptions to economic activities that have been necessitated by the need to contain the spread of the virus.
“You are all aware that we had to implement the lockdown so that the virus does not spread. If it (the virus) doesn’t spread then we spare the lives of our people,” he said. Get more Covid-19 Stats from CovidZW.info #OpenCovidContracts #WhereAreOurVaccines
Hope has arrived, says Chiwenga
