Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya has called people in the country to abide to the Statutory Instrument (SI) 79 which mandates that public gatherings during this period are banned.
Dr. Chilufya explained that the focus for his ministry is public health as a way of creating awareness in order to reduce new cases of cholera.
The Health minister said this during a tour of markets in the Central Business District in Lusaka yesterday.
He said his ministry is monitoring the evolution of the epidemic and has engaged the ministry of education to work together and advise them on the message to be shared.
Dr. Chilufya stated that school health inspectors have been deployed in schools to decontaminate the toilets and ensure that the water to be used by the pupils is clean and safe.
He further added that there is need to eradicate the source of the cholera and ensure that a benchmark is set on the standards of hygiene people need to operate under.
Dr. Chilufya noted that there is need to encourage a paradigm shift in the minds of people with regards to managing solid waste and personal hygiene.
Speaking at the same event Zambia Air Force Commander Eric Chimese said rumours by a certain section of the society that members of the public are facing challenges with going to town because the defense force are forcing them to clean is untrue.
Lieutenant General Chimese explained that what is on the ground is that the general public who constitute marketeers and street vendors are participating in the process of cleaning alongside the defence force.
He said the cleaning up of the city is a community project and not for the military personnel alone.
Lieutenant General Chimese appealed to the communities affected to own up to the programme and clean up as directed by President Edgar Lungu to combat the cholera.
He revealed that so far works are progressing well as the team has managed to open up access to the drainage system.
Lieutenant General Chimese said once works are completed and facilities such as water and toilets are made available then certain sections of the market will open up.
And Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda said the military will remain firmly involved as per instruction by the commander in Chief.
Mr. Chanda explained that the civil military operation is only limited to an emergency period such as the one the country is faced with.
He said the move is a temporal one meant to supplement efforts to combat the further outbreak of the epidemic.
And Minister of Local Government Vincent Mwale revealed that there is need to provide toilets before opening up the places.
Mr. Mwale disclosed that Lusaka City Council is mobilizing a number of portable toilets meant to be placed in various places.
He noted that the opening up of water points at the markets or trading areas are key to the fight against cholera.
Mr. Mwale stated that the operation is on-going and will not only focus on the Central Business District but will cover all markets and trading areas in Lusaka in order to bring sanity to the areas.
Meanwhile, Chibombo District Commissioner Barnabas Musopelo says six cholera cases have so far been recorded in various parts of Chibombo District.
Mr. Musopelo says four cases of the cases since been confirmed while the remainder are yet to be.
Of the six cases, two are from the communities near Shifwankula, while two others are from Kapopo, all in Katuba area, said the District Commissioner.
He said the victims from the two communities are being treated at Chingwere and Naluyanda clinics, respectively.
Mr Musopelo said Zambeef Camp in William area has also recorded two suspected cholera cases adding that the victims have since been admitted to Liteta Hospital.
He said the samples of the two suspected cholera cases have since been taken to Kabwe for confirmation.
He said the cholera patients admitted to Naluyanda clinic came from in Lusaka, while those at admitted Liteta Hospital where infected within the district.
Mr. Musopelo has, however, described the condition of the six cholera patients as stable.
Meanwhile, the DC has instructed the District Health Office to immediately engage the Zambeef management in the district in ensuring that its camp is sprayed to avoid the spread of cholera.
We hope this will be an ongoing exercise. It’s always wise to be proactive than reactive. Minimal number of lives would have been lost if this was done before the rain season began.
If can learn from history many tragedies could be avoided!
..”Meanwhile, the DC has instructed the District Health Office to immediately engage the Zambeef management in the district in ensuring that its camp is sprayed to avoid the spread of cholera…”
Cholera is prevented by spraying???
The able leadership of president Edgar Chagwa Lungu has tranformed economy as evidenced by the number of cholera cases recorded in the capital city due to good policies by PF government. We need to give them another term so that many more cholera cases can be reported beyond 2021. Lusaka people rejected Mama Maureen Mwanawasa as mayor now you have a sleeping mayor you chose for yourselves, well done.
Flashback to August 2015 … “THE Lusaka water supply, sanitation and drainage project under the Millennium Challenge Corporation will commence this year at a cost of US$355 million”
Any evidence that this project has been going on? Loans, grants, aid, e.t.c have been obtained over the years to ‘sort out’ Lusaka’s water and sewerage systems. Check the history. Wondering where and how exactly all this has been spent – in view of our perennial water and sanitation issues.