24 Dec 2020

 Government  has  taken a decision to impose  a curfew from 7pm to 4am from December  24 to January 3.

Giving an update on the  status  of the COVID-19 Pandemic, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi indicated  that the imposed curfew was solely on the basis of protecting the nation from the  impending catastrophe, thus there would be no movement  on the said times.

President  Masisi highlighted that the year 2020 had been a difficult one; hence the importance to reflect on the process made in the fight against coronavirus as  a nation.

He said COVID-19 had disrupted the livelihoods of many and affected  the country’s health system and economy, thus  pressurising government to undertake measures  such as lockdowns and restrictions on international travel to control the  virus.

Dr Masisi noted  that since the outbreak of the disease in Botswana in March 2020, over  513 000 people were tested , with 11 982  testing positive, while 11 147 having been recovered and 797 still active and only 38 mortality recorded .

 To control the disease, Dr Masisi noted that government  established the  Presidential Task Team to guide  the interventions in the fight against the  spread  of  the virus.

He was a COVID-19 relief  fund was  also established, with a seed  of P2 billion to which individuals and  the private  sector also contributed.

President Masisi also made mention of the establishment of the response plan, which helped government to expand testing facilities capacity and further establish contact tracing mechanism.

He  further indicated that government also introduced the State of Public Emergency, which included mandatory wearing of masks in public, extreme social distancing, restriction of public travel and closure of some businesses  that were considered non-essential.

The  decline in the domestic economy, President  Masisi said had considerably altered government’s ability to raise  revenues due to the decline in diamonds sales and tourism.

Dr  Masisi further indicated Botswana had signed up for the global collaboration, which would enable the country to have access to the vaccines.

He however stated that the authorisation of and use  of COVID-19 vaccines in some countries was a welcome development adding the country would not celebrate until it had access to the vaccine.

Dr Masisi cautioned of a new and more aggressive variants of COVID-19, which had been detected in some countries including the  SADC region, therefore  called for more  vigilance.

He said the current situation required concerted efforts from politicians, traditional and religious leaders to play a leading role in combating COVID-19, adding that he would as the  head of state, continue to make bold decisions to protect the lives of Batswana.

President Masisi further applauded frontline workers for diligently protecting and saving lives since the advent of the pandemic.

He also commended the Presidential COVID-19 Task Team and those who contributed to the COVID-19 Relief Fund as well as the nation at large. ENDS