The Zimbabwe Consulate in South Africa has reduced operations with immediate effect, as a result of the tightening of COVID-19 lockdown and other restriction by the neighbouring country.
The Consulate announced that all consulate appointments have been suspended stretching from January 4, to March 26 while also cutting down by half, the number of clients assisted daily from 600 to 300. The statement reads;
“The consulate undertakes to review this position through a similar communication once circumstances change.
The consulate reassured the public that other emergency services such as burial orders, repatriation of human remains and cancellation of passports remain available.
Please note that clients seeking other services such as temporary travel documents, cancellation of passports and authentication of documents do not require prior booking in order to access service.
Further, clearances for the repatriation of human remains for burial in Zimbabwe will continue to be strictly processed via the existing electronic platforms”.
The reduction of operations by the Zimbabwean Embassy came after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa moved the country from level one lockdown to level three on December 28, after a spike in the number COVID-19 cases.
He lamented the unprecedented rate at which the number of infected persons has been rising, with more than 50,000 new cases reported since Christmas Eve.
South Africa’s new strict lockdown regulations state that all persons will be confined to his or her place of residence from the hours of 9pm to 6am daily, and failure to abide by the curfew will attract a fine or a period of imprisonment not exceeding six months.
Theatres, Cinemas, museums, casinos, galleries and archives, fitness centres and gyms, restaurants, venues hosting auctions, and venues hosting professional sport must close at 8pm.
South Africa had also detected a new aggressive mutated form of the coronavirus that first emerged in the United Kingdom.