Breaking: Botswana capital on lockdown as Covid-19 cases surge

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:45 pm

Botswana’s capital city Gaborone was placed on a total lockdown on Friday following an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases.

Health officials announced in a public address on Friday evening that the city will go under lockdown from midnight on Friday until further notice after an earlier announcement of 12 new cases.

Director of Public Health Malaki Tshipayagae said among the 12 new cases, four were imported cases reported at border posts while eight are local transmissions.

He said they will be starting contact tracing and testing of people who visited affected areas immediately, and to enable the process to go smoothly, a period of extreme social distancing will be observed in the capital city and its immediate surroundings.

A local private hospital and a bank have been identified and shut down as areas where positive individuals had passed through.

Tshipayagae said during the lockdown period, only essential service employees will be allowed to return to work while movement permits will be required for people to travel in the city.

(DailyNation)