Zimbabwe Declares Cholera Emergency With Thousands Infected

(Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe declared an emergency over a cholera outbreak that’s killed 21 people and sickened more than 3,000 others.

The police banned all public gatherings in the capital, Harare, because the disease poses a threat to human security, according to a statement emailed by Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba on Wednesday. Health Minister Obadiah Moyo has blamed the outbreak on blocked sewers, a lack of water and garbage not being collected regularly.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police is appealing to members of the public to take heed of this warning and cooperate as this will assist in alleviating the continuous spread of cholera,” Charamba said.

The latest occurrence of the disease was first reported last week. An outbreak in 2008 killed more than 4,000 people.

To contact the reporter on this story: Godfrey Marawanyika in Harare at gmarawanyika@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, Paul Richardson, Jacqueline Mackenzie

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