The presence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe has been confirmed by Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Constantino Chiwenga. To avert a fourth wave of the pandemic, the Vice President has encouraged the country to increase attention and commitment to Covid-19 prevention and mitigation measures.

"We're doing genome sequencing and we've already determined that we now have the omicron variant in this country," he said, adding, "so let's get vaccinated and follow protocols." The confirmation came as the number of daily cases jumped from 40 on Sunday to 712 on Wednesday.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa proposed a slew of new measures on Tuesday to combat the pandemic, including enforced quarantine for visitors and returning residents regardless of PCR results, and a curfew extension from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

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