Botswana’s Director of Health Services Dr Malaki Tshipayagae, on Thursday placed all sixty-nine of the country’s lawmakers, including the country’s president and speaker, under compulsory quarantine. This followed a nurse on duty at Wednesday’s Parliament session having tested positive for the coronavirus.

Nevertheless, barely 24 hours after government announced the mandatory quarantine, a number of MP’s breached the home quarantine order. Several were seen shopping in supermarkets. They have now been placed into government supervised quarantine.

Dr Tshipayagae did not specify how many of the 65 members have been affected by the new measures.

A government statement read in part: “It has since come to my attention that some Members of Parliament have breached their quarantine rules by going to supermarkets thus spreading the risk.”

The statement further added, “This is regrettable, and the public is informed that the MPs have been removed from home quarantine and will be quarantined under government supervised quarantine.”

Botswana is under lockdown after President Mokgweetsi Masisi declared a state of emergency to curb spread of the virus.

This will be the president’s second isolation term, since he entered self-isolation on March 22 after returning from Namibia where he attended the swearing-in ceremony of President Hage Geingob.

The southern African nation has recorded 13 cases of coronavirus with one death.

Umm Muhammed Umar