© NEWLY-APPOINTED Warriors coach Zdravko Logarusic has been urged to bring a professional approach to the team in the quest for success on the regional and global stage.

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The Croatian, a holder of Uefa Pro Licence and Caf A Licence, was appointed last Wednesday to be the substantive coach to replace Sunday Chidzambwa, who quit the post after a disappointing 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament in Egypt.   

Logarusic will be assisted by Joey Antipas, Lloyd Chitembwe, Tonderai Ndiraya while Parnell McKop will be the goalkeeper’s coach.

The 54-year-old has a tough task on his cards as his first assignment will be a double header against reigning African champions Algeria in the 2021 Afcon qualifiers in March.

Besides qualifying for the Afcon tournament to be held in Cameroon next January, Logarusic has also been given a mandate to lead the Warriors to the 2022 Qatar World Cup finals.

Zimbabwe are in Group G together with Ghana, South Africa and Ethiopia with only the top team progressing to the final round of the qualifiers.    

Former Warriors forward Alois Bunjira says Logarusic’s appointment represents a new era for the national team and the Croat must be given full support.

“To be honest, I’m really excited. This is refreshing unlike the culture of having interim coaches. It’s something that was long overdue,” Bunjira told the Daily News.

“He has been in Africa and I’m sure he will be able to bring the professional approach that we are all looking for.

“Having also worked in Europe and spent a lot of time in Africa, I hope he will be able to incorporate all that experience and improve our game. I hope he will be able to give a programme to Zifa not the other way round.”

On the continent, the Croatian has taken charge of Sudan and guided them to a third place finish at the 2018 Chan finals in Morocco and to the group phase of the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers.

He has also managed Ghanaian teams Asante Kotoko, King Faisal Babes and Ashanti Gold as well as Angola’s Interclube.
In Kenya, Logarusic had stints at Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards and at Simba in Tanzania.

“My only worry is that many people appear to be judging him saying he has not won anything which I feel is not fair,” Bunjira said.

“Most coaches have not won anything, why can’t we give him a chance and see what he brings. Are we saying those who have not won anything are bad coaches?
“Look at Wolves coach (Nuno Espirito Santo), he has not won anything yet but he is highly-rated in the English Premier League. We need to appreciate that coaches cannot all win cups at the same time.

“I trust Zifa as the custodians of the game have done necessary background checks before appointing him.
“Besides are we able to pay coaches, who have won say Afcon title? Are we a football powerhouse that we can attract top coaches all of a sudden? The best we can do is to support the coach and see what he will bring.”

Friends of the Warriors secretary-general Zivanai Muwashu concurred with Bunjira saying the association and the coach needed everyone’s support.

“I think for once let’s give credit to the association for this bold decision. People must not rush to judge him, let’s give him time and see where he will take us,” Muwashu said.

“Let’s give him support. It’s not bad to try a foreign coach. He is also qualified for the job and as supporters we are fully behind him. He needs everyone’s support and we wish him all the best.”

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© EXCITING dancehall singer Enzo Ishall has broken his silence with a new track for the year 2020 under new management.

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The chanter is under the spotlight, pursuing a new route after breaking ranks with previous benefactor Passion Java.

Titled Uri Kutsvireiko, the song produced by Oskid seems to be the singer’s response to his engaging new handlers.

Announcing the new song on his social media, Enzo Ishall said: “Well, we are breaking the silence.” And listening to the song he has indeed broken the silence.

Uri Kutsvireiko is a song encouraging people to move on from a loss making venture than holding on for no benefit.
In the song he says he considers what he will benefit before getting into any deal and will leave if it is not beneficial. “Kana zvisiri kubhadhara siya, kanda uko delete. . . Ndisati ndapinda ndokoshesa benefit, kune vese varikuhodha koshesa maprofit.”

This was interpreted to mean he was no longer benefitting under Java and he had to move on to new management which has so far promised to turn around his life.

He recently penned a three-year management deal with TeeMak Promotions believed to be in the range of US$10 000 after breaking ranks with Java.

The deal will see TeeMak Promotions catering for the chanter’s wellbeing, career bookings and touring.
Enzo Ishall said he never had an official agreement with Java but hailed him for helping with his career and that he will continue working with Chillspot Records.

The chanter’s relations with Java and Chillspot have been under the microscope with many speculating existence of acrimony.

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© LOCAL musicians are making an impact on regional music charts with Janet Manyowa recently claiming top position on the Trace Gospel channel.

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The singer could not hide her joy having been on 28th position in the top 30 gospel charts the previous week.

Manyowa is one of the top performing singers in the country with a number of accolades under her belt, hence a perfect representative for the country’s music.
Winky D’s Chandelier off his latest album was on fourth position on the BBC Radio 1Xtra with DJ Edu.

The musician has also been sharing the news on his social media platforms having also dominated with his previous productions such as Disappear which claimed top spot at one point.

This comes at a time regional channel Zambezi Magic is calling for music from the Sadc region to fill in their music slot.

Local musicians have found regional channels as platforms through which they can market their music. This has resulted in them investing a lot in terms of video production.
Trace Africa music channel is one such platform that has local entertainers striving to have their music on.

With only one local television station and expensive Internet access, Trace Africa has become another avenue through which their videos can be played.

Several musicians among them Winky D, DJ Stavo, EXQ and Jah Prayzah among several others have had their video on the continental channel.

There are also other platforms such as Channel O and MTV Base where local musicians have had their videos played.

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© FEMALE musicians that include Pah Chihera, Faith Candy and most recently Bethan Pasinawako are venturing into acting as they feature in local television productions.

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Pah Chihera features in a television series Tete ne Muroora which is being screened on the national broadcaster.

Last year she also featured in a thriller film Gehena Harina Moto.
“I’m enjoying acting and it has opened some doors for me. As an artist I believe you should be able to fit in different roles and for me an acting role is one,” she said.

Bethan Pasinawako is now part of the cast for the local traditional set-up play Tunga, a role she clinched at the end of last year.

The Tunga cast was part of her video Damba which also featured local preacher and musician Tapiwa Freddy.

“This is the other side of my career that probably some didn’t know. Music is also acting especially the videos that we produce and the only difference is that this is full time acting and not singing,” she said.

Faith Candy has appeared in a number of local films and she will be featuring in a new movie to be screened on Zambezi Magic and yesterday she posted while breaking the news for her new role.

Another singer Tammy Moyo was last year roped in for a role in the forthcoming anti-poaching movie Gonarezhou which is her debut acting role.

On the other hand, others who have been in acting such as Dalma Chiwereva are also coming into music, with a recent song featuring Terry Afrika

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© THE High Court has ordered top Zanu PF official and former Mbizo Constituency MP Vongaishe Mupereri to leave a mine belonging to three gold miners in Kadoma.

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The order handed down by High Court judge Jester Charewa on Wednesday comes after Calvin and Estearn Mutema and Gift Chakupa filed an application seeking an interdict against Mupereri and Gladys Chivere.

“On September 5, 2019, we obtained a certificate from the ministry of Mines  to mine gold at Etna XY5 situated on Inesdale Estate, Kadoma … The problem we are now facing is that the respondents (Mupereri and Chivere) are now disturbing our operations and they even unlawfully evicted us from the claim we are legally mining,” the trio said.

The three said the court must give an order interdicting Mupereri and Chivere from interfering with their operations and should be sent to jail for contempt of court if they breach the directive.

“We reported the matter to the relevant authorities but we are not comfortable with that, hence approaching this honourable court for recourse which we believe is executable.

“We want an order which will stop the respondents from interfering with our operations and possibly move away from our claim because we are the registered owners of that claim,” the three said.

They further told the court that Mupereri and his accomplice acted unlawfully because they do not have any documents proving them to be the owners of the mine.

“We understand that if they are interdicted from disturbing our operations, we will immensely operate and benefit from the gold reef thereby contributing to the economy of this country,” they said.

A letter dated September 10, 2019, which is part of the court annexures, from the Mashonaland West provincial mining director to Kadoma police indicated the trio as the bona fide owners of the mine.

“This office is in  receipt of the … complaint from Calvin Mutema of Royalion Mining Syndicate, in which he alleges to have been evicted by members of your office from Etna XY5 Mine …The complainant alleges that members of your office indicated that the area belongs to someone else.

Please be advised that Royalion Mining Syndicate, whose members are Calvin Mutema, Estearn Mutema and Gift Chakupa, is the registered holder of Etna XY5 located in Inesdale Farm,” reads part of the letter.

Mupereri and Chivere did not respond to the application, leading to the matter being set down for hearing on Wednesday on the unopposed roll.

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© TUBERCULOSIS (TB) deaths are still high in the country despite efforts that have been made towards reducing its burden, Health and Child Care minister Obadiah Moyo has said.

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Speaking at a recent ceremony to mark the end of the Challenge TB (CTB) programme, which was part of a five-year flagship global mechanism for implementing USAid’s TB strategy supported by the US president’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), Moyo thanked  the American government’s  support but said more still needs to be done.

“As we mark an end to a five-year journey with Challenge TB, we celebrate some collective strides in the national response.
“Our estimated treatment coverage has climbed down to 210 per 100 000 in 2018 from 278 per 100 000 in 2014.

“Despite these gains, TB deaths still remain unacceptably high at 15 percent among notified TB clients, likely attributed to late treatment-seeking behaviour and important comorbidities such as HIV and diabetes.

“No one should die of TB. Inorapika ichipera (It can be treated), umkhuhlane weTB uyelapheka(TB can be treated),” the minister said

“The International Union of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union) country director, Christopher Zishiri, whose organisation spearheaded the Challenge TB, said the initiative had helped to spread the fight against the disease to 70 percent of the country.
“We were working in 21 priority districts, especially those with low notifications and low treatment success rates.

“We contributed to the diagnosis of more than 43 000 confirmed TB cases and more than a million specimens were transported over the past five years,” Zishiri said.

Health and Child Care parliamentary portfolfio committee chairperson Ruth Labode, who was also present at the same event, commended the CTB for involving members of Parliament in the fight against TB.

“Out of the 23 countries implementing the CTB grant, Zimbabwe managed to put TB on the political agenda as witnessed by the collaborative efforts done with the members of Parliament.

“Our members now include TB on their agenda during their constituency meetings,” Labode said.
Zimbabwe was chosen for the programme as it has a high burden of both TB and HIV.

The programme was introduced to strengthen TB service delivery platforms and to improve access to high quality patient-centred TB, drug resistant TB (DR-TB) and TB/HIV services among other things.

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© SIX suspected poachers who connived with a game scout at Thetford Game Reserve and killed two white rhinos before being trapped and arrested the following day have appeared in court.

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Yemurai Ndou, 26, Lee Victor Dube, 47, Adam Komela Siziba, 33, Hardlife Zhou, 23, David Kasere, 42, Silence Sibindani, 38, and Bernard Marimo, 46, appeared before Harare magistrate Rumbidzayi Mugwagwa.

They were represented by Lucky Mawuwa and were remanded in custody to February 14 because they face a third schedule charge of unlawful hunting of a specially protected animal.
Prosecutor Sabastian Mutizirwa alleged that on January 28 around 2am game scouts at Thetford Game Reserve heard gunshots in their game park.

That morning, they discovered two dead rhinos, a white male and female, within the game reserve which had gunshot wounds.
The court heard that they had all horns removed and a spent cartridge of a .375 rifle was found at the scene.

The matter was reported to Flora and Fauna Unit for investigations and on January 29 detectives were tipped that Ndou, Dube and Siziba were looking for rhino horn buyers in the central business district.

The detectives lured Ndou and his accomplices to the corner of Central Avenue and Seventh Street where they posed as buyers.
Ndou allegedly produced the white rhino horns and said they were selling them for US$20 000 a kilogramme.
While they were still negotiating the price, the other detectives pounced on the trio and arrested them.

When they were questioned about origins of the rhino horns, they implicated Zhou, Kasere and Sibindani, who were parked at corner Kwame Nkrumah and Simon Muzenda Street.

The detectives interrogated the gang further until they divulged that they had hunted and killed two rhinos at Thetford Game Reserve in Lowdale, Harare and retrieved the horns.

They led detectives to Pote area in Domboshava and caused recovery of two .375 rifles fitted with telescopic sights, six live ammunition, two rifle silencers hidden along Pote River under a bridge which was used to kill the animals.

Indications were made at the game park and Marimo was implicated for facilitating the gang’s entry into the reserve.

A post-mortem was conducted by a veterinary doctor, who retrieved three bullets from the dehorned carcasses.

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© SCORES of children were, during the course of this week, arrested in Mashonaland Central over allegations of trespassing in mining areas and engaging in illegal artisanal mining.

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At least 300 suspects, including those under the age of 18, appeared before the Bindura Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday facing criminal charges.

Twenty-five juveniles were freed, courtesy of Justice for Children (JCT), a non-governmental organisation specialising in providing legal aid for minors.

“So far, we have managed to assist 25 children with legal representation. The figure includes eight children who have been warned and cautioned. We have also successfully applied bail for 10 other children,” Tsitsi Masengure, a seasoned law practitioner with the JCT said.

While some of the children got their freedom, there are some under-age suspects who are still behind bars as they have no birth records to prove their exact ages.

“Some of the suspects have no birth certificates so we are in the process of estimating their ages (Age Estimate Applications). It was ascertained that they were children. Owing to this, we are expecting the number of children affected by the police dragnet operations to rise well above 25,” Masengure said.
Most of the suspects at Bindura Magistrates’ Courts were arrested at Jumbo Mine in Mazowe.

The police have declared Jumbo Mine a no-go area after suspected machete-wielding gangs, commercial sex workers and vendors invaded the area creating chaos in the process.
Jumbo Mine became a hive of activity since last year after Metallon Gold’s closure of the mine in 2018.

In order to restore sanity in the area, the police launched a blitz against the trespassers and those suspected to be illegal artisanal miners in and around the area under their twin operations code-named “No to Anarchy by Artisanal Miners” and “No to Dangerous Weapons”.

“The arrests were indiscriminate; some victims were taken while conducting their day-to-day business which has nothing to do with artisanal mining. Although we admit that some of the children might have committed the offences, as Justice for Children, we urge the authorities to respect the interests of the minors,” Tatenda Sigauke, another lawyer from the JCT, argued. In Shamva, two suspects believed to be under the age of 18 have been convicted and sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of committing similar offences.

“As Justice for Children, we are contemplating doing court appeals for the two girls that have been sentenced,” Sigauke said.

The machete-wielding gangs hogged the limelight in the society late last year after they terrorised innocent people, robbing them of their goods and cash mostly in and around mining areas countrywide before murdering a police officer on duty, Wonder Hokoyo, in Battlefields near Kwekwe.

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© THE MDC has identified 20 election principles which it wants to be incorporated into the electoral reform agenda and the proposed Electoral Bill ahead of the 2023 elections.

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Key electoral issues in the document to be submitted to Parliament and other relevant authorities before the next elections revolve around the need to entrench the independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec).

“The new Act should criminalise coercion and undue influence on the freedoms and electoral persuasions of the electorate by influential persons and institutions.

“In developing these principles on elections, a review of best practices by other countries is taken into account, as well as recommendations from organisations focusing on elections and Election Observer Missions accredited to Zimbabwe during the 2018 elections, the Sadc Model Law on Elections, AU and UN protocols guiding democratic elections were also considered,” part of the document reads.

The MDC is also demanding a fair, a transparent and inclusive delimitation process conducted by an impartial body with a clear operational framework and methodology that is not subject to political interference.

The country’s biggest opposition party is also demanding a binding and enforceable code of conduct regulating the conduct of all key electoral stakeholders, including political parties, candidates.

Additionally, MDC also wants a voters’ roll audit as well as secure storage of election material.

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© THE Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera)has  warned investors to be wary of bogus middle-men claiming to have power to speed up licensing processes on their behalf for a fee.

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In a statement, the authority said the unscrupulous people are targeting particularly foreign investors, misleading and swindling money from them.

“They misrepresent themselves as middlemen who can organise meetings and follow up on progress in the licensing process at a fee payable by unsuspecting investors.

“Investors and the public are hereby advised that Zera does not work through third parties such as middlemen, facilitators or agents in or outside the country,” Zera said.

Zera is mandated to issue licences for investors who are keen to venture into the electricity and petroleum sub sectors.

“The issuance of energy sector licences which authorise investors to operate in the sector is done in accordance with the country’s Energy Regulatory Authority Act [Chapter 13:23], Electricity Act [Chapter 13:19], Petroleum Act [Chapter 13:22] and ancillary statutes. Please be informed that Zera does not charge any fee for enquiries on the energy sector or any other generic and operational issues,” the authority added.

This comes as several government entities including, the tax authority, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), last month also reported bogus shipping agents issuing fake temporary import permit (TIP) documents.

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© GOVERNMENT has pleaded with civil servants to be patient saying the issue of their welfare is a process and cannot be solved overnight.

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Deputy Labour minister Lovemore Matuke said yesterday that the government is working round the clock to improve the welfare of its workers.

“It’s about the size of the cake; our economy is still growing so workers must remain patient. Workers have the rights to demand what they want, but this is not an overnight thing, we are working tirelessly to improve the country’s economy and we are on the right track. We want to make sure that prices are reduced and workers are getting a meaningful salary. This is a newly-born baby (government) so they must give us enough time to solve the challenges we are facing. Look at the size of the economy.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is trying to deal with all the problems.  Shop owners must be disciplined so that prices of goods will not go up on a daily basis,” said Matuke.

This comes after the Apex Council accepted the government’s 139 percent salary offer, while negotiations continue but also demanded that the increment — which they want paid once off or over two months — be backdated to January, while government proposed to stagger it until April.

Earlier, the Apex Council had rejected the government’s offer of a 97 percent increase, describing it as nutshells which would not change their situation of incapacitation.

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© POLICE yesterday blocked MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s, pictured, clean-up campaign that had been slated for Chitungwiza, advising the opposition party to join the one held by President Emmerson Mnangagwa every month instead, the Daily News reports.

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Last week, the MDC resolved to hold a national clean-up day programme beginning yesterday — a concept that critics of the 41-year-old opposition leader say was being copied from Mnangagwa, who started his in 2018.

In a letter to the convener of the inaugural campaign, Maxwell Mavhunga, who is also Chitungwiza South MP, police in Chitungwiza suggested that the opposition party should join Mnangagwa’s campaign that is held every first Friday of the month.

“We are of the opinion that you join others in the presidential clean-up which is carried out on the first Friday of every month,” the officer commanding police in Chitungwiza district, S Mujiwa, wrote.

Reacting to the ban, Mavhunga expressed concern that the democratic space continues to be limited in the country saying the development could trigger lawlessness.
He claimed that his party had complied with the provisions of the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (Mopa).

“As a party, we are now seriously considering whether it makes sense to continue following the law by notifying the police as it has become clear that by continuing to do so, we are actually giving them ammunition to violate us.

“They told us verbally that they were under instructions to ban us after we sought clarity regarding their letter which to us seemed to just give us advice not to bar us.  I want to warn the authorities that this rouge regime’s action could backfire in spectacular fashion.

“In fact, today there was potential for chaos had we not restrained the youths in order to protect the elderly and women who had come for the event. They wanted us to go ahead regardless of the ban because the youths were agitated,” Mavhunga said.

Chamisa, who was supposed to officially launch the programme, announced on Tuesday last week while unveiling his party’s national 2020 agenda at Stodart Hall grounds, in Harare’s Mbare high density suburb that the clean-up exercise is dubbed Jekesa/Chenesa Zimbabwe.
 The opposition chief said his party was also going to launch the so-called smart village concept in every rural area in the country for model housing.

Last year, Mnangagwa declared the first Friday of each calendar month, the National Environment Cleaning Day, as his government moves to ensure the country has sustainable environment management and waste disposal systems.

Themed “Zero tolerance to litter: My environment, my pride”, the national environmental cleaning across the country is carried out between 8am and 10am.

Since taking over leadership of the MDC following the death of the party’s founding president Morgan Tsvangirai in 2018, Chamisa has also been engaging in sporadic public activities, including participating in a tree-planting campaign.

In 2018, he led a clean-up exercise in Harare after several suburbs had been ravaged by cholera. In December last year,

Chamisa  reportedly escaped death by a whisker after police in Marondera allegedly  fired “live and rubber bullets” at him, forcing him to scurry for cover and abandon a tree-planting programme at Dombotombo Clinic in the farming town, 72km east of Harare.

Although police insisted that they only used tear smoke to disperse the crowd, top MDC officials said live ammunition had been fired into the crowd.

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© THE Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has foiled an attempt by 25 machete-wielding gang members to invade a mine in Chinhoyi, national police spokesperson Paul Nyathi has confirmed.

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This comes at a time when the country is battling to contain the menace of machete-wielding gang members who have caused havoc in several mining towns across the country.

“Twenty-five illegal miners armed with iron bars, shovels, picks and machetes attempted to invade a mine in Makonde, Chinhoyi on January 26, 2020. Police moved in to disperse them using teargas and firing some warning shots,” Nyathi said.

The police have since launched Operation Chikorokoza Ngachipere, which has so far netted in over 2009 machete gang members across the country, as the police seek to end illegal activities in mining towns.

The on-going operation has also seen the arrest of illegal miners in Penhalonga and Matobo, according to Nyathi.
“On January 24, 2020, four men were arrested for illegal gold panning along Mutare River, Penhalonga. A 50kg bag of gold ore was recovered.  On January 25, 2020 ZRP Matobo arrested 15 people for illegal gold panning, one for possessing dagga in the on-going operation against illegal mining activities,” Nyathi said.

The High Court also this week denied bail to at least seven machete gang members, who were reportedly involved in the murder of Kadoma police constable Wonder Hokoyo in December last year.

High Court judge Amy Tsanga ruled that Lyton Panashe Tshuma, Obvious Mawire, Tonderai Musasa, Richwell Tshuma, Bornlight Mukute, Taurai Munetsi and Tinashe Demo, were not suitable candidates for bail.

The other suspect, a 14-year-old boy, has since been freed on bail.

The suspects are accused of having invaded Good Hope Mine in Kadoma on December 28 last year.

“The severity of the punishment they are likely to face in light of the crime having been committed under aggravating circumstances has been alluded to by the State and is likely to induce absconding. The strength of the State case in this instance is bolstered by the identification parade which was carried out, which unearthed two of the applicants.

“Weapons were recovered from two others. Moreover the applicants are said not to be permanently resident at the given address. It would not be in the interest of justice to release them on bail when they have tenuous ties to the place of residence,” Tsanga said, before dismissing the gang’s bail application.

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© THE government says it has no plans of evacuating about 1 000 Zimbabweans living in the Chinese city of Wuhan — the epicentre of the lethal coronavirus that has claimed at least 213 lives and affected nearly 10 000 others around the world, the Daily News reports.

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This comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) is now treating the coronavirus outbreak as a global emergency.
Foreign Affairs deputy minister, David Musabayana, told the Daily News yesterday that Zimbabwe had no reason to hit the panic baton.

“The fact is that the Chinese government has put in place all the necessary measures to ensure that Zimbabwean students there are safe from the virus.

“There are over 1 000 students studying there (Wuhan) and if anything happens, they will be taken care of,” he said.
The director for epidemiology and disease control at the Health and Child Care ministry, Portia Manangazira, also said the government would not take any drastic action regarding the country’s citizens in China, but would also not stop students who were keen to come back home from doing so.
“In terms of international health regulations, we do not resort to drastic action.

“We want to re-assure Zimbabweans there that if they want to come back home they are welcome, but they just need to notify health authorities so that we can do the necessary preparations,” she said.

She also revealed that surveillance systems had now identified 303 people — who included Chinese, Korean, Malaysian and Japanese nationals — who were being monitored.
The outbreak of the coronavirus has seen some countries evacuating their citizens from the affected cities — especially Wuhan.

Among those the countries that have evacuated their nationals are South Korea, Japan, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Harare has said that it is making an all-out effort to prevent the virus from spreading to Zimbabwe.

“We have informed Zimbabwean authorities in health, foreign affairs, airports, and other ports of entry of the latest developments of the epidemic and established an information sharing mechanism with them.

“We have requested Chinese nationals coming to Zimbabwe to co-operate fully with the screening measures of the Zimbabwean authorities at the ports of entry and issued three consular notices to provide information updates and recommendations for the prevention of the epidemic.

“We have called on associations of the Chinese community and … businesses and institutions in Zimbabwe to raise the awareness of their members and employees who have returned to China for holiday, asking them to protect themselves against infection,” the embassy has said.

“Those who have returned to the most affected regions in China, such as Hubei, are advised to hold off coming back … until the situation eases to reduce the risk of bringing the virus to Zimbabwe.

“Those who have returned to Zimbabwe from the worst hit areas in China are requested to undergo a self-quarantine of two weeks at home, and not to go to public places, offices, or any gatherings.
“If suspected symptoms appear, they are asked to immediately seek medical help and report to the embassy,” it has further advised.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases.

Its symptoms include pneumonia, high fever, flu, shortness of breath and diarrhoea — and the precautions that have to be taken include covering your mouth when coughing and sneezing, and continuously washing hands.

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