STATE OF EMERGENCY
Zimbabwe’s death toll in cholera outbreak now at more than 20 with thousands ill
Police have issued a ban on all public gatherings to control the spread of the disease
Harare — Zimbabwe’s government has declared a state of emergency over a cholera outbreak that has left at least 21 dead and thousands ill. The disease has mainly affected the capital Harare where high-density suburbs have been most hit. It has also brought back memories of 2008 during the country’s worst economic crisis when the World Health Organisation (WHO) said about 500 people perished from the disease. Ten years on, Zimbabwe’s health sector is still paralysed and the outbreak has become yet another headache for President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Health minister Obadiah Moyo told journalists on Tuesday, after visiting a treatment camp, that the government is concerned that the disease is spreading fast. "We are declaring an emergency for Harare. This will enable us to contain cholera and typhoid in the city as quickly as possible. We do not want further deaths, so if we do not create this disaster emergency situation, we will continue losing lives." He blamed the disease on a poor s...
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