Health Minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya has announced that Zambia has in the last 24 hours recorded five COVID-19 cases bringing the cumulative number of cases to 446.
Dr Chilufya said the country conducted 432 tests out of which five tested positive, two of them truck drivers, Zambian and Malawian respectively while three cases where from routine screening at the University Teaching Hospitals.
He said seven patients have been discharged four of whom are health workers bringing the total number of recoveries to 124 with 315 active cases and seven deaths.
Meanwhile, Dr Chilufya says Government has given Nakonde residents a two days humanitarian window starting tomorrow to stock up on essentials within the local markets before the full response to COVID-19 resumes on Saturday.
He said Government wants to make the COVID-19 response in Nakonde snappy, surgical and punchy and make sure that the border town is disinfected as quickly as possible.
Dr Chilufya said among the public health measures introduced in Nakonde following the Presidential decree is the introduction of an isolation center at Nakonde District Hospital with a holding capacity of 42 and two other centers where asymptomatic people are being held.
Updating the nation on COVID-19, Dr Chilufya said priority will be given to the elderly people, children and the asymptomatic adding that the provision for clinical care has been operationalised at Chinsali General Hospital where ten ventilators have been installed.
More haphazrd figures…what of the 22 health workers in Ndola have you screened their families
Active cases have overtaken the recoveries which can be worrisome if the trend continues but at least no mortality recorded. It is good they have some ventilators near the hotspot and hopefully, the health workers are well equiped too.
We thank you for the update. Onward with the fight!
looks like COVID is here to stay….mixed with lies and corruption and stealing donor funds
Thank you honourable. This is great news as we can see numbers lowering. Ala we thank our men and women in uniform for all your sacrifice. At least you are serving your country rather than like some cowards who ran away to diaspora and just sit on their backsides all day criticising a country they chose to leave. Surely how pathetic and sad is that ? Are they failing to move on like a dumped teenager ? We tell them get a life and that their wishes for deaths here will not amount to anything. Boooooo shameeee Haha. Kz
For how long will they be announcing these numbers because COVID is here to stay…how long will they be doing those costly press conferences…makaka Bandit Minister Chilufya and the entire PF bandit government
They should really just stop wasting resources and making allowances through these breefings of either numbers going high or low. What we need to hear is how u plan to excute a country wide preventive response to covid19. Telling us who is infected and how many will not solve the problem tell us wen each district will be equipped to handle the threat and how people will be able to access covid 19 services.
@Anonymous, Lucid English we are still in the early phases and as long as the cases are rising, daily briefings are important so as to keep the public alert and updated on development and measures. Later on when a decline is forseeable, even weekly updates can do.
How is it that it is a minister to announce covid-19 test results doesn’t he have other jobs to do like checking if the hospitals have enough medicine and how the country is faring in the fight against HIV, malaria etc. Shouldn’t chilufya be expediting the recruitment of those 3000 plus medical personnel? I hope he is not getting allowances to announce results while hospitals run out of essential drugs to combat other diseases. What role is Dora playing apart from just getting unnecessary allowances I don’t see any need for her on that platform really.
@Dadididade Official information has to come from Minister for people to take it as official. For checking of medical supplies in hospitals, how the country is faring in fight against HIV, malaria and other diseases and looking at the recruitment of health personel. In all these areas you have mentioned there are people heading those departments who report to the minister or permanent secretary who report to the president. You don’t expect the ministeright to going to check on stocks of medicine at UTH. I don’t know why people feel that oher duties are neglected when time for updates on Covid -19 is very short.
Sad that Chilufya has lost credibility so fast.
The day after Ba Edgar gave speech, and Chilufya came out with pro’s numbers, that’s the day everything went in drains.
Whatever comes of chilufya’s mouth is official and whatever comes of hh’s mouth its rubbish, so do you want hh to be announcing the test results?
KZ you really seem to have beef with people living in the diaspora. Did you at one time while at Chelstone clinic apply for a job outside Zambia and got rejected. We all know how these folks live. Its not easy at all to ek a living outside ones country. Just leave them alone being where they are is what keeps their boat afloat. They we will find us home one day if they so wish. The lucky ones will come alive others will come dead, that is if their families will be able to afford to transport their remains. Leave the diaporians alone, its a choice they made. On a positive note, regardless of the work they do they also contribute through remitances to their realtives back home, assiting the governement in way.