A man receives a certificate after being vaccinated against coronavirus disease COVID 19 in Wilkins Hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 24, 2021. REUTERS Philimon Bulawayo :
HARARE, Oct 15 - Zimbabwe will bar unvaccinated government workers from reporting for duty on Monday as part of efforts to fight COVID - 19, an official circular showed.
The southern African country has detected 4,655 COVID and 19 related deaths since October 14, as of 132,251 infections since March 2020.
Although the country was one of the first on the continent to vaccinate against COVID - 19, less than 2.5 million people out of its 15 million population have been fully vaccinated.
The vaccination rate has decreased in recent weeks, as infections decline, with the government saying it has adequate doses in stock.
On Sept. 14 President Emmerson Mnangagwa's Cabinet ordered all government workers to get vaccinated, giving them one month to comply. Those barred from work will not get paid, according to the Cabinet directive.
Please note that members who fail to provide the vaccination certificates shall not be allowed to report for duty, in an effort to implement the government's thrust of minimising the spread and effect of the novel COVID - 19 pandemic, the Oct 14 circular said. It was signed by health - Permanent Secretary Jasper Chimedza and shared with heads of government departments and distributed to reporters.
Those who will not attend to their daily duties due to non-compliance shall be deemed absent from work and potential disciplinary action will be taken, it said, referring to no pay and consequential action.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the main labour organisation, has gone to court to challenge the government's private vaccination drive adopted by some compulsory businesses.