Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo yesterday morning distributed masks and sensitizing motorists and some Lusaka residents on the importance of adhering to Covid-19 health guidelines.
Mr. Lusambo has since directed that he will tomorrow start taking stringent measures against those that will not comply with the Statutory Instruments (SIs) on Covid-19.
The Minister, who led members of the multi-sectoral Covid-19 taskforce on an inspection of compliance to health regulation among motorists and other road users at Arcades Flyover Bridge, Heroes stadium bus stop, and shop owners at Manda Hill shopping mall, observed that there is complacency among residents despite the increasing cases of the disease in the province.
He noted that Zambia is recording an increase in the number of new cases and deaths hence warned that the situation may get to unmanageable levels if people continue with the status quo.
“The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) is filled to capacity and the number of new cases is increasing, this poses a serious threat,” he said.
Mr. Lusambo told bus drivers not to carry passengers who are not masked up and warned that all travellers who do not wear masks on public buses will not be allowed in and out of Lusaka starting Wednesday this week as the taskforce starts to enforce the SI.
“Buses that carry passengers who do not wear masks will not be allowed to enter or leave bus stations. The drivers should ensure that all their passengers are masked up,” he said.
And Mr. Lusambo has warned bar owners who operate beyond prescribed operating hours that they will be dealt with.
“We will start inspecting all places especially the bars and nightclubs that are on record to be hotspots for transmission of the disease, the owners are not complying with the law with regard to the times of opening and closing, the masking of revellers and the observation of a one metre physical distance as provided by law,” he noted.
The Lusaka Province Minister however commended shops at Manda Hill shopping mall where shoppers are not allowed to enter shops if they are not complying with the health regulations.
He observed that only those with masks are allowed to enter the shops.
“People here are all masked up, they realise the seriousness of the disease and that the new variant is more deadly,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lusaka deputy mayor Christopher Shakafuswa said Lusaka City Council (LCC) observed that people in the city have adequate information about Covid-19 but do not mask up.
“Many people put the masks in their handbags and pockets and only wear them when getting into shops. We need people to realise that masking up is intended to prevent the disease and not to show those enforcing the law,” he said.
Mr. Shakafuswa said the council will enhance inspection of public places to ensure adherence to public health regulations.
Mobile Health Services
Honourable Lusambo, nobody has heard you talk of any plans of how you are going to sort out the biggest problem of jobs in Lusaka, Job creation in Lusaka province is the biggest problem, this information is being given to you free of charge. I know that you are rushing to do simple tasks like giving of masks, which I know are important but how about job creation, the ministry of health has done a good job of sensitizing people of wearing masks but go into any establishment even shoprite, every body is wearing these wrongly as necklaces.
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Man of action
Why do people set their standards so low, how can he be a man of action when all economic indicators for Lusaka province are in negative, Lusaka GDP is negative, .there are no jobs and he is just distributing masks which any body can do, and he is even holding the masks with his bare hands which is another risk
Soon he will be positive.
how safe are those people recieving those masks from him, is that the best way of handling masks that will be used by another person?
Our working govt
Where did all the Jack Ma donations go?
The Ambassador to Ethiopia said 1 million masks and 200,000 test kits were donated by Jack Ma, yet to the Auditor General’s report says Medical Stores reported only receiving 20,000 masks and 200 tests. There has been no attempt at public accountability. Can the MOH and DMMU who are mentioned in the report account for how the donations were distributed. Who received them? There needs to be a public accounting of all the Covid supplies.
Lusambo at work!!!!!!!
The man is hard working ok jealous down…
That is my bro lusambo. The bull dozer!! Upnd are now scared. They know what this man is capable of .
Does this guy run out of dry jokes.
This time he’s going to ICU for good
This moron is just spreading the virus by handing out face masks with his own fingers …he is basically contaminating that whole package of face masks and I wouldnt accept any from that moron. He is just a busy fooooool….to dullards he is a hard worker.
The first and real problem for Lusaka province is neither floods nor covid. The real problem in Lusaka province is the unacceptably high unemployment levels which no body in this government talks about. Instead of sitting down and planning and brain storming on how to navigate this problem, he is on the road distributing masks, yes masks are important and the exercise is important but there are other people who can do that, this past year more school leavers have been off loaded on the market, what is the plan bwana.
And Lusambo is not a good role model so people may start shunning the masks all together . Is he not the one who slapped Kambwili at parliament and organized thugs to beat up Major Kachingwe.
Remember how the youths mobbed Edgar at one of the Agriculture shows with chants of we want jobs.
Busy ku tuma masks, economy is down, people have no jobs
Meanwhile MOH Permanent Secretary has lamentably failed to account for K63 million of covid-19 funds or why a local pharmacy was awarded a $17 million medical drugs contract which the obviously failed to honour successfully …but all these dont matter to the La7y one in State House, you have more chance of being fired for touching unruly PF cadres .
Auto pilot Dear Tarino
Pensulo – Do you honestly think someone like Bowman can brainstorm …he would use the occasion to just worship his boss, I mean this is a man who thinks handing out gifts to people queued outside his home on Xmas is hard work, he wouldn’t have a clue on what job creation is…this man should be no where near a ministerial property but then again this is the calibre La7y Lungu wants in his cabinet. These are wasted years.
What a misleading heading “cuts short his leave to lead fight against covid 19 second wave”, so his distribution of masks to those 5 mini buses is taking a lead to fight against covid?
Went to bed leaving the country on auto pilot! Serious leaders Mede serious decisions including closing airspace, we got the variant through porous airspace and borders!!
Isn’t this the guy who has been going into Copperbelt with rented crowds without masks and social distancing and today he is a champion distributing masks, next week probably back on the Copperbelt with rented crowds again, with crowds fighting for money being distributed left right and center
Giving out masks now, next super spreader Copperbelt full time. with questionable mealie meal and cooking oil being distributed in kafubu, you will see multitudes there
He is just spreading covid-19, did he was those hands that handling musk’s?
Yesterday he was saying PF is going to do more door to door campaigns and today he is talking of safety measures which includes social distancing and staying at home. Contradiction in terms.
But how clean were his hands?