Overview
Zambia recorded its first COVID-19 cases on March 18, 2020, and the number of daily new cases peaked in early August. A second wave started in mid-December 2020 and peaked in January 2021. The third wave has started at the end of May 2021. .Early actions to contain the spread of the virus in the spring of 2020 included: (i) closure of schools and universities; (ii) suspension of non-essential foreign travel; (iii) mandatory quarantine for all foreign travelers; (iv) closure of bars, cinemas, and casinos; (v) delivery and take-out regime for restaurants; (vi) restriction on public gatherings to at most 50 people; (vii) restriction on sports activities; (viii) a temporary lockdown on the towns of Kafue and Nakonde; and (ix) a partial closure of the border with Tanzania. In addition, the Zambian economy has been adversely impacted by the sharp depreciation of the local currency, increases in yields on public debt, and economic disruptions due to lockdowns in trading partners.
Reopening of the economy. Since late April 2020 the government has been slowly lifting lockdowns, border closures, and restrictions, subject to social distancing, including on churches, some non-contact sports, and barber shops and salons. In early May 2020, cinemas, gyms, casinos, tourist spots, and restaurants were allowed to open as long as they adhere to strict social distancing and sanitary guidelines. Primary and secondary school examination classes reopened last June. A reopening of international airports was announced in late June.All schools, colleges, and universities were allowed to reopen in September 2020, together with bars and nightclubs. In response to the second wave of the pandemic, on January 6 Lusaka city council suspended all special gatherings and ordered bars and restaurants to work on a takeout basis.
Official Resources
For questions related to COVID-19, please contact the National Public Health Institute at 0953898941 or call the DMMU hotline at 909.
COVID-19 Restrictions
Movement Restrictions
- Is a curfew in place? No
- Are there restrictions on intercity or interstate travel? No
Transportation Options
- Are commercial flights operating? Yes
- Is public transportation operating? Yes
- Masks are required to be worn in public and on public transportation, although this rule does not appear to be enforced.
Fines for Non-Compliance
- There are fines for non-compliance, but fines are not being enforced at this time.
Economic Measures
Key Policy Responses as of June 3, 2021
FISCAL
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Import duties on mineral concentrate and export duties on precious metals were suspended to support the mining sector (the first measure was extended permanently with the 2021 Budget). The government has waived tax penalties and fees on outstanding tax liabilities resulting from CoVID-19. It has suspended customs duties and VAT on some medical supplies and medical related commodities. It has also removed provisions related to claiming VAT on imported spare parts, lubricants, and stationery, in order to ease pressure on companies. The government has also issued an 8 billion kwacha bond (2.3 percent of GDP) to finance CoVID-19 related expenses, including health spending, arrears clearance, grain purchases, and a recapitalization of a non-bank financial institution (NATSAVE). The 2021 Budget envisions zero rating under the VAT for equipment used for full body sanitization for a period of one year, as well as tax breaks for tourism: a permanently lower CIT rate and suspended import duties and fees.
MONETARY AND MACRO-FINANCIAL
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The Bank of Zambia’sMonetary Policy Committee lowered the policy rate by 225 bps to 9.25 percent on May 19, 2020, and by 125 bps on August 19, 2020, to mitigate the adverse impact of the pandemic. The BoZ provided 10 billion kwacha (2.9 percent of GDP) of medium-term liquidity support to eligible financial services providers. It also scaled up open-market operations to provide short-term liquidity support to commercial banks and embarked on a bond purchase program worth 8 billion kwacha to provide liquidity to the financial sector. In addition, BoZ implemented several measures to stimulate the use of e-money and reduce the use of cash, revised the rules governing the operations of the interbank foreign exchange market to support its smooth functioning by strengthening market discipline and providing a mechanism to address heightened volatility, revised loan classification and provisioning rules, and extended the transitional arrangement to IFRS9.The BoZ has allowed financial service providers to renegotiate the terms of credit facilities with borrowers affected by the pandemic. Non-bank financial institutions were allowed to use capital instruments that do not qualify as common equity Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital for the purposes of computing regulatory capital.
Civic Freedom Tracker
PUBLIC HEALTH (INFECTED AREAS) (CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019) REGULATIONS, NO. 22 OF 2020
The regulations among other things ban public gatherings of more than 5 people. They also provide that health officials may enter private premises without a warrant to "search for a case of Covid-19," and mandate that any individual suspected of having Covid-19 must be reported to health officials. The regulations provide that failure to comply with the regulations or a directive under the regulations shall be punished by a six-month prison sentence and a fine of 2,500 "penalty units." (See primary source or citation here)
Type: regulation
Date Introduced: 13 Mar 2020
Issue(s): Assembly, Privacy
Source : ICNL
