STAFF WRITER
A total of 3 021 983 people have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine with over 2,1 million people being fully vaccinated with both doses, the Ministry of Health and Child Care has said.
This translates to a national coverage of 35% for the first dose and 25% for the second dose.
The ministry said as at September 24 2021, Zimbabwe had 129 360 confirmed cases, including 121 995 recoveries and 4 602 deaths.
As of September 19 2021, a total of 2 949 025 people had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 2 065 395 their second dose across the country.
On Tuesday, Cabinet gave special mention to Bulawayo, which was “at 52.6% for the first dose and 40.3% for the second is edging towards herd immunity, along with Matabeleland North where Victoria Falls has already surpassed its herd immunity.”
Zimbabwe received one million doses of Sinovac vaccine on September 14, bringing the total number of vaccine doses received since the roll-out of the vaccination programme to 11 800 000.
Meanwhile, Government has instituted various measures to contain the COVID-19 surge in schools.
1. enhancement of surveillance and contact-tracing at schools and in the surrounding communities;
2. increasing on-site COVID-19 testing of all suspected cases, contacts and surrounding communities;
3. isolation and management of all COVID-19-positive cases;
4. quarantining of those exposed;
5. restriction of movement into and out of the affected schools until the outbreaks have been controlled;
6. enhancement of public health and social protocols, including social distancing, hand washing, sanitization and wearing of face masks;
7. empowering teachers to detect and report suspected cases;
8. enhancement of awareness campaigns in schools and surrounding communities; and
9. vaccination of all eligible populations in schools and surrounding communities.
