BY MOSES MATENGA
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday threatened forced Covid-19 vaccinations, saying the country now had enough doses for everyone.
Mnangagwa said this while addressing his party politburo in Harare, and announcing that the country had just received over 12 million Covid-19 vaccination doses from China.
“Altogether we have now received over 12 million doses from China as donations. So there is no need for anybody to remain unvaccinated. There is so much vaccine doses that we will soon be stopping people on the streets to vaccinate them,” Mnangagwa said.
“I would like to commend those who have heeded my clarion call to get a booster vaccine dose. Government will continue mobilising vaccines to ensure that lives and livelihoods are saved and protected.”
“In the same issue of risk reduction, I call upon the nation to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and adhere to the set containment measures.”
Mnangagwa said the fight against the virus was still on and urged people not to drop guard.
Acting President Constantino Chiwenga has extended the prevailing Covid-19 lockdown measures by a further two weeks. Under the measures, schools will remain closed till the first week of February.
According to Friday statistics, 16 people succumbed to Covid bringing the total number of deaths to 5 238 since 2020. At least 553 new cases were recorded on the day bringing the total number of infections to 225 637 since 2020.
Only 2 520 people have so far received their booster doses according to official statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care.