by Tafara Mugwara
HARARE, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- At a long-distance bus terminus hours after sunrise in Mbare, a township near downtown Harare, scores of people were patiently waiting for buses bound for their rural homes.
At the entrance of one of the buses, a conductor sanitized a passenger and checked her temperature before she boarded the coach.
A "no mask no entry" sign, in bold letters, could be seen clearly on one of the coach's windows.
Inside the bus, passengers were eagerly waiting for departure so that they could reunite with their families once again in the village after a yearlong hustle in the city.
Memory Kambarami, a passenger, said despite the threat from the pandemic, she had chosen to celebrate Christmas and New Year holidays at her rural home.
"The year has been tough but things went well. There is a surge in COVID cases, so as we travel we are making sure to protect our health. COVID is there, for real, so as we travel we remain vigilant making sure that we carry sanitizer," she said.
At Mbare Musika terminus, the largest in Zimbabwe, people are taking their annual trek during the festive season.
Christmas and New Year are the most celebrated holidays in Zimbabwe, and the festive period normally starts on Christmas eve up to the first week of January before schools resume.
The festive period coincides with early rains, which herald the start of the cropping season, when many people return to their rural homes to help their families plant crops.
Zimbabwe is currently facing a fourth wave of infections driven by the Omicron variant, even though cases have generally leveled at around 2,000 infections a day from a peak of more than 6,000 earlier this month.
"We are very tired, we got here early, around 8 a.m., waiting for transport. Traveling this time is a challenge, with children, as a family, the pressure is so much," said 52-year-old Virginia Mutasa, another passenger waiting at the bus terminus.
Mutasa said in spite of surging infections, people still need to continue with their lives as usual, albeit subject to precautions to protect their loved ones.
"We are afraid (of COVID-19) but we have to find a way because there is nothing we can do. We are afraid that with all these crowds, we might have already been infected," she added.
Washington Masenda, a bus inspector has witnessed a spike in Christmas trips this year compared to last year.
"Although there is a surge in COVID-19 cases, it seems people are traveling," he said. "Especially early in the morning."
To protect passengers from COVID-19, Masenda is making sure that all passengers are sanitized before boarding the bus.
At a busy intersection in Borrowdale, one of Harare's rich neighborhoods, 35-year-old Godfrey Chakombera is selling Christmas wares, mostly targeting well-to-do residents of northern Harare suburbs.
For Chakombera and other vendors, the holiday rush had been a perfect time to make some extra money before the pandemic struck, as even high-end buyers have cut back on spending.
But despite the pandemic-induced hardships, most people went on with their yearly routine, trying to live with the "new normal." Enditem
