Free movement within zone begins
Botswana has with effect from Wednesday midnight ended phase three of Extreme Social Distancing by further easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
The end of phase three is marked by the introduction of free movement without permits within Zones.
Inter zonal permits will however be needed when one travels on essential purposes to another zone.
The country has registered four new cases of corona virus this week bringing the total number of covid 19- patients to 29.
As part of strategy to contain the spread of the virus, Botswana has been divided into zones to restrict movement of people allowing swift responses in the event of an aggressive outbreak.
Giving an update on national television, Presidential Covid-19 Task Team Deputy Coordinator, Professor Mosepele Mosepele said behavioral monitoring will determine whether Botswana successfully remain safe from the virus going forward.
The Professor also announced that they have trained at least 10 000 health workers to become contact tracers.
“This will help us to have enough personnel for contact tracing in case we have new cases after lockdown. One of our regulations is to have registers at service centres and shops so that if there is a case we are able to call those who were in contact with the infected. Lockdown has helped us to bring down numbers of international transmissions. Essential goods and services movements cause new cases, which are from the neighbouring countries. Lockdown remains an option to control this disease,” Mosepele explained
He said Gaborone zone seems to be bigger than other zones because a bigger part of the populace work and live in the city and its surrounding areas.
Professor Mosepele further explained that testing could now be done in laboratories locally.
He said they have a mobile laboratory at Gantsi Mamuno boarder, in Kasane and they have a testing machine in Francistown, which should start working by end of this week.
“This will allow more than 4 500 molecular tests in a day,” he said
The public is encouraged to continue wearing masks, observe social distancing, use sanitizers and frequently wash hands thoroughly with water and soap, the professor said.
