HARARE, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwean government has announced a two-week localized lockdown for Hurungwe and Kariba districts in Mashonaland West Province following a spike in COVID-19 infections.

The development comes after the government extended a localized lockdown for Kwekwe district in the Midlands Province after detecting the highly transmissible Delta variant first detected in India.

Announcing the localized lockdown Friday night, Chief Director of Curative Services in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Maxwell Hove said the restrictions were meant to prevent a spike in infections and give health facilities a better chance to contain the virus.

"More than 40 cases were recorded in the last three days. The Ministry has therefore declared a lockdown in the hotspots of Kariba and Hurungwe districts. The lockdown will be reviewed after two weeks," said Hove. "Those living outside Hurungwe and Kariba are prohibited from visiting the two districts. The public is advised that health education, contact tracing, and isolating positive cases is being done."

Hove urged those who had not yet been vaccinated to get their jabs at the nearest health centers.

Slightly more than 1 million people in Zimbabwe have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

As of Friday night, the southern African country had recorded 39,688 positive cases of COVID-19, with 36,970 recoveries and 1,629 deaths. Enditem

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