By JAIROS SAUNYAMA FIRST Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has called on Zimbabwean women to fast and pray for three days following a sharp rise in COVID-19 deaths and infections. The fasting will start today until Saturday, with women in the diaspora urged to join in. In a statement, Mnangagwa bemoaned the ravaging effects of the deadly respiratory disease in the country, hence the call for prayer. “May I, as the Mother of the Nation, call upon all women in Zimbabwe and all those abroad who may so wish, to join in fasting and praying to Lord the Almighty from tomorrow (today) 21 to Saturday January 23, 2021 for our nation to be spared from further calamity and suffering,” she said in a statement. “Our country has witnessed a lot of COVID-19 deaths in the past two weeks. Death is within our communities, at our doorstep. There is no family that has not suffered the loss of their beloved ones because of the pandemic.” Zimbabwe is currently experiencing its worst increase in COVID-19 cases since March last year, with deaths peaking to around 60 for a single day. Government recently imposed a 30-day lockdown to curb the rising infection rate that could have been exacerbated by the festive season celebrations. The authorities have also banned the movement of bodies across the country as the battle to curb COVID-19 intensifies. “I, thus, humbly appeal to all women to commit to a three-day period from tomorrow in which we fast and pray calling for divine intervention to save the nation and our people. As women, we play a very important role in our society. We hold the family unit together and get it to work for our daily life,” added Mnangagwa. This is the third time Zimbabweans will hold a national prayer over COVID-19 since its outbreak last year. Follow us on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe