Visitors to Zimbabwe from countries affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) will be deported at the port of entry unless they produce medical certificates showing that they do not have the disease, a cabinet minister announced on Tuesday night.
Health Minister Obadiah Moyo said the move is part of stringent measures approved by cabinet on Tuesday to ensure that COVID-19 does not spread to the southern African country.
“Those who come without medical certificates showing that they were examined by government doctors from their countries of origin, we will simply say ‘thank you for the visit, but we are sending you back,” Moyo told journalists after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
He said the adoption of such a measure was “to ensure that we don’t have people who bring coronavirus into our country.”
“We will take all stringent measures to ensure that we don’t have coronavirus in Zimbabwe,” the minister said.
There have been more than 90,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus – and over 3,000 deaths – in 48 countries since the beginning of the year, according to the World Health Organisation.
The disease originated in China and has spread to other parts of the world, including Iran, Italy, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
JN/APA