The Sunday Mail
Andrew Moyo
While various parts of the world have been grappling with the coronavirus situation, Zimbabweans have been reluctant to take drastic precautions as the country has not yet recorded a single case.
The issue of social distending is something that is still foreign, especially among merrymakers and church goers who thronged their usual leisure spots and places of worship respectively this past weekend.
However, that is all about to change as Government has stepped up its precautionary measures, declaring the coronavirus pandemic a State of National Disaster.
For the next 60 days, public gatherings of more than 100 people have been banned in a move to control the spread of the virus that has been causing chaos around the globe.
These bold steps taken by Government are a clear indication that relevant authorities are taking this pandemic seriously and are not leaving anything to chance in this regard.
The Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) has been postponed, with all independence celebrations that were set to take place on April 18 being cancelled.
On the entertainment front, several promoters have taken heed of the Government’s call to postpone public where more than a hundred people will congregate, cancelling or postponing their shows which were supposed to take place in the next 60 days.
Some of the major events that have been put on ice include Jah Prayzah’s album launch, Burna Boy’s show, Turbulence’s Vic Falls gig and Fiesta Fiesta.
Last week, organisers to the ZimThrive Homecoming which was scheduled to take place from April 1 t0 31, announced that they were moving their fete to December after evaluating potential risks of the coronavirus outbreak.
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare will also be temporarily closing doors in the face of the crisis. This means that David Palacios “Point of View” exhibition which was scheduled to open tomorrow has been postponed until further notice.
However, some events which usually attract a few number of people, seem to be going ahead as planned.
The Simuka Comedy show set for March 25 and at Jasen Mhepo Little Theatre and Life Begins at 40 Comedy Explosion Gala taking place on April 17 at Reps Theatre might just be going ahead as their posters are still doing rounds on social media.
Prayersoul’s Citisessions taking place at Chicken Basket Gazebo this Friday is still on, with the organiser highlighting that they have reduced the number of seats to 80.
“We are still on for #CitiSessionsZw this Friday and have dropped our number to 80 seats. We will take precautionary measures to make sure everyone is safe,” said Prayersoul in a statement on his Whatsapp status.
