Filling stations to operate 24 hours

Following the threefold increase in the price of fuel, government has permitted fuel service stations to operate around the clock in a bid to ease the shortage of the commodity in the country.Under the current lockdown regulations, most businesses can only operate between 8 am to 4.30 pm.But in a statement on Monday night, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the national taskforce on COVID-19 agreed that service stations must be allowed to operate 24 hours a day.

She said in a statement, “Following reports on erratic hours of operation by some fuel retail outlets, the Attorney General has clarified that fuel retail outlets are classified as an essential service under the lockdown regulations.As such, retail outlets are allowed to conduct trade during their normal hours of operation.Their hours of operation are not confined to 8 am to 4.30 pm which applies to some other exempted categories of business”.

Mutsvangwa revealed that the country has started the use of dexamethasone after the United Kingdom found it had the life-saving potential for critically-ill coronavirus patients. Petrol is now selling at an average price of 71 rtgs while diesel is selling at an average price of 68 rtgs. This would be nearly 1 US dollar on the black market. The increase has however not improved the current situation of fuel shortages in the country