Two health workers, a doctor and a medical licentiate, who are among frontline workers that have survived the Covid-19 after being infected on duty, have called on Zambians to take the disease seriously.
Dr. Kabeta Sinzala, a Sub-district Public Health Specialist, was among the medical personnel who tested positive after a COVID-19 patient from Bauleni was admitted to Chilenje Level One hospital, recently.
Dr Sinzala said that health workers are working hard to ensure they fight the virus adding that members of the public must reciprocate by following guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health.
And Constance Nkandu, a Medical Licentiate Practitioner has told ZNBC’s Penlope Sikazwe that one of the challenges she faced after being diagnosed, is stigma from society.
She said it was difficult to deal with the stigma as it also extended to her relatives. Penlope Sikazwe managed to meet with the duo from Chilenje level one hospital to get their experiences.
Yesterday, Health Minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya has said that Zambia has in the last 24 hours recorded 14 new COVID-19 cases out of 161 tests done in Lusaka.
This brings to 668 the cumulative number of cases recorded since the disease broke out in Zambia.
The 14 cases recorded in Lusaka come after the country recorded a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases with 208 cases recorded after conducting 903 tests the previous day.
Dr Chilufya said of the 14 cases recorded, 10 were from Chirundu involving Truck Drivers four Zambians and six Zimbabweans while three are from routine testing and one known contact to the infected person all in Lusaka District.
The Minister said 28 people have been discharged from isolation after repeated tests.
Dr. Chilufya said 16 of the recoveries are from Levy Mwanawasa Isolation Facility, while 12 involve health workers who were at Courtyard Hotel.
He said actives cases now stand at 509 with while the number of deaths related to the pandemic remains seven.
And Dr. Chilufya said massive disinfection of public places in Nakonde District resumes today following the lapse of the two-day humanitarian which came to an end yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Minister disclosed that COVID-19 samples from Muchinga province will now be done at Chinsali General Hospital following the successful installation of equipment at the facility with a capacity to process over 400 tests in a day.
We detest any form of stigma. However when a new and unknown virus like covid spreads globally it is human nature for people to react with fear. It was the same with HIV. I wouldn’t call it stigma but rather fear. At this point no one knows whether formerly infected people can still catch it and reinfect others. In some cases its social distancing rather than stigma.
@KZ
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Watching
But why are we busy disinfecting everything like as if it was cholera? The virus will not survive longer than 10 hours on any surface. An overnight period of no activity will sufficiently render the area corona free. Lets stop throwing money around irresponsibly.