By Ray Ndlovu
Sep 14, 2021, 8:36 PM
Word Count: 223
Only workers who have taken the coronavirus vaccine will be allowed to report for duty, Minister of Information Monica Mutsvangwa told reporters at a post-cabinet briefing in the capital, Harare on Tuesday.

The country is slowly opening up economic and social activity after a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Only vaccinated people are allowed to attend church gatherings and sit-in at restaurants.

The southern African nation has received 11.8 million vaccine doses from purchases and donations since the start of the government’s program. At least 1.9 million people were fully vaccinated as of Sept. 13 out of the 10 million the state is targeting in order to reach herd immunity, according to the health ministry. It remains unclear how many of the state’s workers estimated at over 300,000 are vaccinated.

The biggest workers’ union last month took the state and several firms to court for insisting that employees must be inoculated against Covid-19 before reporting for work. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions said there is no law under the country’s statutes providing for compulsory vaccination.

Read More: Zimbabwe Says State Employees Must Get Covid Vaccine or Resign