This archive report was first published on 2 July 2020.
On July 2, 2020, Zimbabwe took a significant step towards reviving its economy by easing some of the Covid-19 restrictions.
As part of the relaxation, the country's national parks have been reopened to the public, and restaurants are now allowed to serve food within their premises.
The move is expected to save the country's tourism and hospitality sector from collapse, which has been severely affected by the lockdown imposed at the end of March to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
According to Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, the decision to reopen the sectors was made following requests from the industry.
Although lockdown regulations allowed restaurants to stay open for their full licensed hours, they were limited to takeaway services, which severely impacted the sector.
The Zimbabwe parks agency had also been struggling to pay its rangers and fund anti-poaching activities due to the lack of funds.
However, the relaxation of the regulations will only allow for domestic tourism, with the government citing a spike in new Covid-19 cases as a concern.
Despite this, Zimbabwe is slowly reopening its economy, with over 2.5 million people visiting the country every year, making tourism one of its biggest foreign currency earners.
