An assessment of Zimbabwe’s response level to coronavirus pandemic: a case of Harare Metropolitan Province

Abstract

imbabwe’s coronavirus infections and deaths rates surged to a record high from March 2020 to July 2020,[1] with the end of July growth rate being an exponential growth of not less than a hundred infections per day while many people were infected and succumbed to coronavirus pandemic on the second wave,[2] leaving the Zimbabwean populace wondering whether there was any meaningful response to the coronavirus pandemic. As of the March 19, 2021, Zimbabwe’s total number of coronavirus-infected people, death, and recoveries were 36,662, 1510, and 34,257, respectively.[3] The respondents were government directorate, local government directorate, hospital doctors, hospital and polyclinics nurses, other health workers, council workers, university staff, NGOs in the province, and residents. A convergent mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) with descriptive thematic analysis was used in this research with a total of 678 questionnaire responses, 42 interviews, and 10 observations. Questionnaires had an overall response rate of 89.7%, while all the intended interviews and observations were done.