One of the country’s biggest mining companies has restricted access to site for unvaccinated workers.
The company says this follows a memo by the its general manager to that effect.
In a number of counties, Zambia included, vaccination is voluntary.
However in neighboring Zimbabwe while vaccination is officially voluntary, unvaccinated government workers face disciplinary action.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa once said unvaccinated citizens will be denied access to certain services.
Meanwhile, some companies are also punishing unvaccinated workers, by sending them on forced leave.
Zambia will not be an exception from many countries issuing policies restricting access to many public places and access to certain services for individuals who are not vaccinated. This is already happening in the diaspora and it’s widely beginning to be seen as a proactive protective measure and not a punishment or abuse of anyone’s rights. So a timely word of caution to the unvaccinated Zambians is that similar restrictions are likely going to be introduced in Zambia.
This is because, just like in other countries, the massive spread of the corona virus has an impact in various sectors of Zambia, be it social, political, economic, tourism, or domestic and global trade sectors.