Categories: Stories

Why I don’t want Zimbabwe lockdown to be extended

The coronavirus is real. I have no doubt about that.

I am quite aware that Zimbabwe now has 18 positive cases with one recovery and three deaths.

The number of those testing positive has been increasing, almost on a daily basis of late, but all the same, I do not want the lockdown, now on day 17 and only four days to go, to be extended.

The reason! My 84-year-old mother could die, not of coronavirus but because of complications associated with high blood pressure.

You see, my mother has not been able to access her BP tablets since 3 April because of the lockdown which came into effect on 30 March.

Although there is a clinic within walking distance from her home in Gokwe South, she has not been able to access these tablets for years now.

Our arrangement has been that either we buy them in Bulawayo and give them to a member of the bus crew that travels from Bulawayo to Jiri, or we buy them at Gokwe Centre and we give them to kombis that ply the route.

These alternatives were all shutdown with the lockdown, so the tablets have been stuck at Gokwe Centre since 3 April.

Any extension will therefore mean that my mother will not be able to access those vital tablets.

Call that selfish and I humbly plead guilty.

And I now understand why some of those in the informal sector said they would defy the lockdown because if they did not die of coronavirus, they would die of hunger.

My mother might not die of coronavirus but I do not know how long she can live without those BP tablets.

Click link below to receive free updates by whatsapp

https://chat.whatsapp.com/IjKB2tQriIv3s0CUZMVUPS

 

(300 VIEWS)

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Recent Posts

Indian think tank says Starlink is a wolf in sheep’s clothing

An Indian think tank has described Starlink, a satellite internet service provider which recently entered…

November 18, 2024

ZiG firms against US dollar for 10 days running but people still do not have confidence in the currency

Zimbabwe’s new currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), firmed against the United States dollars for 10…

November 16, 2024

Zimbabwe among the top countries with the widest gap between the rich and poor

Zimbabwe is among the top 30 countries in the world with the widest gap between…

November 14, 2024

Can the ZiG sustain its rally against the US dollar?

Zimbabwe’s battered currency, the Zimbabwe Gold, which was under attack until the central bank devalued…

November 10, 2024

Will Mnangagwa go against the trend in the region?

Plans by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front to push President Emmerson Mnangagwa to…

October 22, 2024

The Zimbabwe government and not saboteurs sabotaging ZiG

The Zimbabwe government’s insatiable demand for money to satisfy its own needs, which has exceeded…

October 20, 2024