Icon: enlarge
Zimbabwe's Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo: He died on Wednesday from the consequences of Covid-19
Photo: - / dpa
In the South African crisis state of Zimbabwe, the government lost two more cabinet members to the corona virus within a few hours.
Transport Minister Joel Matiza's death was announced by the government late Friday evening - Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo also died less than two days earlier of complications from Covid-19.
Moyo became known in the context of the coup, in which the military took power in the country in 2017 and put long-time ruler Robert Mugabe under house arrest.
Moyo, then with the rank of major general, had stated on television several times that the military had only taken over power in the meantime.
At the time, he assured us that it was not a coup and that normalcy would soon be restored.
Two weeks later, Mugabe's successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, made him Foreign and Trade Minister.
Several dead, many sick in the cabinet
Since the beginning of the pandemic, four ministers have died of complications in the course of a Covid 19 disease.
According to officially unconfirmed media reports, several other cabinet members are said to be wrestling with death in a private clinic.
"We are in a dark cloud that we have to get rid of as soon as possible," said Deputy Health Minister John Mangwiro on Saturday to the dpa news agency.
He held out the prospect of tightening the lockdown imposed at the beginning of January.
"We saw that not all people respect the lockdown," he said.
According to the previous regulations, people are not allowed to leave their homes between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
A maximum of 30 participants are allowed at meetings.
Among other things, restaurants, bars and sports facilities have to close.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 30,523 infections have been recorded in the African country, and 962 people have died as a result of Covid-19.
The numbers are small compared to other countries, but they are high enough to cause trouble for the country's health system.
On social media, the government is increasingly being blamed for denying hospital staff required protective clothing and pay increases, thereby provoking a strike.
Icon: The mirror
mak / dpa
