A cross section of Zimbabweans has called upon the Government to effect a ‘ban’ on Chinese visitors from entering the country following announcements that a traveller from the severely affected Wuhan Province, China, was flagged up as needing assesment for Coronavirus (Covid-19).
With the infamy of an appallingly deteriorating health sector, various organisations and personalities have implored on the Government to put a lid on flights from the Asian country. Before spreading to other parts of the world, the deadly Covid-19 has its roots in China.
After the outbreak of coronavirus in November last year, dozens of countries have put restrictive travel measures which have isolated the country of more than 1,3 billion people.
The travel restrictions on China come albeit the fact that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is on record saying the typical limits on travel, and even trade, are not needed in the pursuit of controlling the fierce disease.
Countries that have put restrive travel measures on China include Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong Indonesia, Russia, Qatar, Morocco, Myanmar, New Zealand, Netherlands, North Korea and Pakistan amongst many others.
Now, organisations and the generality of Zimbabweans are calling for the Harare administration to put restrictive travel measures on China.
Labor union, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), said the country ‘has been colonised’ by China and the authorities are not capable of ‘saying NO’ to Chinese flights getting into Zimbabwe.
“It appears China has taken over Zimbabwe & we have been colonised again. Even our health matters not to the colonizers & their governors here.We are not even prepared for the epidemic but we allow travelers from affected areas simply because those in power can’t say NO”, the ZCTU said in a tweet.
Responding to an announcement on micro-blogging Twitter by the Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services ministry which had misspelt words, ‘Coroner virus’ and ‘Hunan’ province, opposition MDC Youth Assembly deputy spokesperson, Womberaishe Nhende said:
“It should be an issue of principle to disallow travellers from China from entering Zimbabwe . Zvema spellings tozozviona”.
“Just BAN visitors from China. The health of Zimbabweans must come first”, weighed in another user, Danaivamwe Chimhunu.
“I give up on this country. (So), you can’t tell the Chinese that they can’t come to Zimbabwe? Is this covid-19 a secret? What exactly do you want from Zimbabweans? Muri kuda kutipedza nhaika,kutopinza munhu arikubva panhongonya payo Corona Person gesturing ok (So you want to kill the entire nation by bringing in someone coming from the epicenter of Coronavirus?)”, Alice Tsungu argues.
Harare and Beijing have strong bilateral relations which date back to the epoch of deposed tyrant and late long-ruling Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe.
When he succeeded Mugabe about three years ago, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has apparently advocated for the Look East Policy and the Chinese nationals have investments in various sectors of the galloping Zimbabwean economy
Zwnews