The number of people dying from the Coronavirus pandemic in Zambia could be higher than being reported by the Health Authorities, according to the United States Embassy in Zambia.
David Young, the USA Chargé d’Affaires, at the US Embassy in Lusaka says many deaths associated with the pandemic are being buried undetected especially in rural parts of the country.
Mr Young has said that due to limited capacity to test many people, those with underlying conditions that have died have not been tested leaving the numbers of people who have died from the pandemic low.
He has said that this is presenting a challenge to the Ministry of Health as they seek to keep people informed on the status of the pandemic.
Mr Young was addressing Zambian Journalists that underwent training on Coronavirus reporting sponsored by the US government.
He said using the Center for Diseases control and World Health Organisation Models, it is anticipated that Zambia could still have the pandemic by September 2020 and could infect up to 5 million people.
According to the Ministry of Health, only 11 people have died from the Coronavirus pandemic since the disease broke out in Zambia on 18th March 2020.
All the 11 people who have died from the pandemic had underlying condition such cardiac problems, HIV/AIDS, while others had respiratory problems.
The total number of COVID-19 cases country wide to date is 1,382 out of the 45,248 conducted so far as announced by Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya recently.
“He said using the Center for Diseases control and World Health Organisation Models, it is anticipated that Zambia could still have the pandemic by September 2020 and could infect up to 5 million people.”
Ambassador please lets be realistic, the total number of infections so far is 1,300 since March. How can it jump to 5m? And that is 30% of our population ka. Unless those WHO models do not work for Zambia.
Deport this guy!!
He’s saying 2 things:
1. The government is lying
2. He wishes that Zambians die enmass
Same crime like Chellah did so why is he free or doing in our country?
Africa has no covid 19 its high time we declare covid free continent
We don’t have Corona virus in Zambia
The WHO model is meant for homosexuals in America not christian Zambia
This useless USA charg’e d’, affaires wishes us Zambians doom, why do whites always think they can dictate how people should live in this world…. We are tired of seeing our ignorant leaders as ourselves…. Tired of thieving management and useless aid or donations, keep them to yourselves as these are media of infection to African lives
“He said using the Center for Diseases control and World Health Organisation Models, it is anticipated that Zambia could still have the pandemic by September 2020 and could infect up to 5 million people.”-LT
Current PF administration when the hear the word models, there not shaken that is terrifying.
The word Model its a wake up call.
PF those perk comes with responsibility.
PF no more five years.
The PF complain about social media misinformation……
The blame lies squarely with lungu…..right at the beginning when after 18 months in office and lungu declared $2.1 million cash money in his account , he was accused of rampant corruption and asked to deny this…….he chose silence , for reasons only known to himself.
That was been his GRZ policy, silent indifference to accusations of corruption.
I am glad to see majority of comments above are being critical of American propaganda. It is refreshing to see people standing up for their country. A lot of people abroad and in diaspora are angry because Africa has not been largely affected by corona. The west cannot understand how our deaths are lower than theirs. It would not surprise me if this virus was made by the west to kill Africans and reduce influence of China. Americans need to learn respect. Something most of them lack. Why doesn’t the American embassy tell us why black men are being killed there?
That’s the problem globally, even here the same fact has been discovered. A lot of extra death statistics mapped against the past stats have shown higher deaths than expected at this time of year. They have been put down as possibly covid 19 related.
Opposition media should not jump on the bandwagon on this one, making false allegations of misreporting. Ambassador, should have promised more text kits to Zambia to keep good relations than incite our poor journalists. And they should have worked with govt not media.
BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS…..YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF HELPING TO REDUCE NUMBERS IN THIS PANDEMIC……Social Distance, Mask up, Wash hands frequently soap,&water, and Stay home as much as possible to a avoid contact.
ITS ALL IN YOUR HANDS.
I told you long back that we are fed with wrong data for covid-19.
Now that China has announced debt relief there will be also exaggerated death toll just to make these thieves ti qualify.
Unfortunately China is not a country which seeks transparency.
PF must go!
A good number of people in Lusaka have given up on the MoH guidelines because their implementation was rigged by cadres. It’s now common to see people without masks, they don’t even sanitize on buses. Cadres at Kulima Tower are no longer there. This is the problem with doing things the PF way.
Another alarmist with misplaced priorities. How does an Ambassador begin to lecture us about disease control? It just doesn’t sit well with him that the virus has done more rampage in his country than in Zambia, so he has to be startin’ something. And why should journalists even undergo US sponsored training on Coronavirus reporting? So that they can report according to the US view of Africa? These journalists have perverted themselves and their profession and betrayed my confidence in them to report independently.
Regardless of what foreign nationals opinions are, Zambia has managed Covid 19 very well compared to the USA or the UK who are still battling huge volumes of cases daily. Kudos to the Zambian Government and Health Care teams for their hard work and sleepless nights.
The Brazilian government initially played down the covid-19 pandemic. Until the daily burials increased exponentially.
President Mangufuli declared Tanzania “coronavirus-free”.
However the border towns of Nakonde and Nagama(Kenya) are struggling to cope with Tanzanian Truck drivers and cross-border traders who testing positive for the coronavirus.
The truth will come out one way or another.
FOR NOW PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING
WASH OR SANITIZE YOUR HANDS REGULARLY
ALWAYS WEAR A MASK TO PREVENT YOU FROM INFECTING OTHERS
There is no COVID here.
Kaizar Zulu, Zambians are very rational people. They will attack HH, Kambwili, Tayali, Chellah, Lusambo, ZESCO, Airtel, when they are not making sense. They will even attack Jesus Christ. So don’t be defensive when they attack Lungu and the PF when their actions are an evasion of any form of logic
Peter you are right about zambian being rational. However diasporans are not. That is the problem
While it is easy to hide the number of people infected with covid 19 it is difficult to hide the dead bodies at mortuaries and cemeteries. The increased number would have been easily noticed. In Tanzania the number is being hidden by burying people at night according to Al Jazzeera. Videos purporting to show night burials in cemeteries and corpses wrapped in plastic body bags carried out of homes by men in full personal protective equipment (PPE) suits are shared widely on WhatsApp groups and social media, raising fears about the true extent of the crisis.
These people have an agenda they want to bring vaccinations and kill more people and create business as they did with HIV.
Wait for It you will hear more what deaths is he talking about which Zambians do not know about.
We need to continue enforcing prevention measures. It is very possible for us to experience a sudden increase in cases and end up having a disfunctional health service. These people usually speak from a good stand point. Do not demonise him that quick. Take extra neasures until we have been through September.
It’s funny that this PF muppet called Kaizar Zulu has been allowed to enjoy all the freedom of expression liberties such that every trash that come out of his mouth is always published by the LT. Are we really serious about making Zambia great again or not..? Who gives this KZ so much leverage and platform to talk nonsense and always against the people in the diaspora…?
Secondly, Zambians are not rational people but very inept and docile people ready to be abused and imprisoned. They will accept any stupidity coming from dirty mouths from people like KZ. The PF government is doomed. How can you allow yourselves to now listen to the advice from an American ambassador on how COVID-19 should be managed, when another US ambassador criticizes on the abuse of power and gross corruption and…
Secondly, Zambians are not rational people but very inept and docile people ready to be abused and imprisoned. They will accept any stupidity coming from dirty mouths from people like KZ. The PF government is doomed. How can you allow yourselves to now listen to the advice from an American ambassador on how COVID-19 should be managed, when another US ambassador criticizes on the abuse of power and gross corruption and intimidation on the Zambian citizens, you refer to such a one as being a proponent of the opposition and accuse him of meddling in internal affairs of the country and you have him deported. The indeed laughable.
Zambians please please I beg ohh ….you to vote OUT PF in 2021. We want Bally in.
Only God knows the truth. With PF in control it’s hard to believe covid reports. You take a sample from a specific district and leave a suspect wondering the country for one week that’s when they will receive feed back. Covid is just another business strategy, to fool many people, scare many people so that thieves can carry out their agenda.
First and foremost I would like praise the US government for bringing up the recoveries to about 1000 000 which is about 50%.
I tend to disagree with methodology, which is showing that rural areas could have higher deaths than 11 deaths in Zambian urban. Do we have mass death. How can this be. Your hypothesis need to be tested. I could have agreed if you said people in Zambia contract Covid-19 and get healed on their own. Using your analysis we could say villages’ populationp by the end of the year population will be wiped out. Yes USA will have 3 000 000 case by September 2020 because they at 2 300 000 cases not Zambia.
Last I thank God for answering our prayers on Covid 19
“……up to 5 million people”. Wow that’s almost the entire cases recorded in the world..Lusaka Times please check your numbers..
(perhaps 5,000?)
Nonsese! What are they trying to push? Trying to increase the numbers for their purposes?
This craziness must end- ignore this the way Magufuli did and move on to recover the economy.
Creating a crisis so that they can give you the “solution”.
People see what’s happening (or NOT happening) around them- people smell a rat, a big rat.
Models for WHO dont work, they are full of paper work only. Thats why many african countries end up been in trouble when it comes to health prevention issues.
Hahaha ba Charge d’Affaires, so you are not happy that we have few coronavirus cases being reported in Zambia, er? Ati there must be more people dying of coronavirus in rural areas due to lack of testing facilities there. Who told you that? I am now beginning to believe my colleagues in this forum that this coronavirus issue may be a creation of the west and was intended to decimate blacks in thousands, even not millions. If this was their intention, then I am happy that it has boomeranged against them. Don’t wish us evil Mr Young.
I meant in thousands, if not millions
Government, Mr Bwalya minister of finance, get us our money from Madison Assets Management. We are starving while Thieving directors and shareholders are living in their cosy homes.
I beg you Mr Lungu