Sibusiso Moyo died on Wednesday
* Third government minister to succumb to Covid-19 since March 2020
* Zimbabwe 14th from 55 African countries on COVID-19 high levels
* Malawi 25th, up from 30th last week as cases continue to rise
By Duncan Mlanjira
ZIMBABWE’S foreign affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo died on Wednesday, a day after testing positive to COVID-19, acting chief secretary to the president and cabinet George Charamba said in a statement.
He becomes the third government minister to succumb to Covid-19 since the pandemic hit the country in March 2020.
He was a retired army Lieutenant-General
The retired army Lieutenant-General was the face of the military operation that ousted former President Robert Mugabe in November 2019 and went on to be part of current President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.
Malawi lost three prominent government officials over a week ago from COVID-19 related complications.
First was Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Information, Ernest Kantchentche on January 11 followed by two Cabinet ministers, Sidik Mohammad Mia (Minister of Transport) and Lingson Belekanyama (Minister of Local Government), who passed on the following day.
COVID-19 situation in Africa
Zimbabwe is 14th from 55 African countries on COVID-19 high levels while Malawi is 25th, up from 30th last week as cases continue to rise in the second wave of the pandemic that spread widely since the beginning of the new year.
As of Wednesday, January 20, confirmed COVID-19 cases from 55 African countries reached 3,307,910 with reported deaths on the continent reached 80,834 with 2,743,464 people having recovered.
South Africa has the most reported cases — 1,356,716 with related deaths at 38,288.
In the top of most-affected countries include Morocco (461,390), Tunisia (184,483), Egypt (158,174), Ethiopia (131,727), and Nigeria (113,305).
The numbers are compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University using statistics from the World Health Organization and other international institutions as well national and regional public health departments.
