Various Stakeholders have welcomed President Edgar Lungu’s decision to extend the measures implemented to combat the spread of the COVID-19.
Speaking in an interview with ZNBC news, Private Sector Development Association Chairperson, Yosuf Dodia said that the extension is necessary because it will enable the country to contain the spread of the virus and praised Government for the measures put in place to mitigate the shocks that most SMEs have faced due to the impact of the Covid 19.
Mr Dodia said banks should also provide affordable loans that will allow the businesses to survive during the pandemic.
And, Zambia Medical Association President Samson Chisele, who supported the extention, urged the public to adhere to the measures put in place by Government.
Dr. Chisele said Government has tightened measures with emphasising on the need for members of the public to always wear face masks when in public places to avoid contracting the virus.
He also urged medical practitioners to ensure that they are always wearing protective gear, especially when operating around the medical facilities because they are high risk areas. Dr Chisele said the Government must also strengthen testing capability so as to ensure more people are tested and isolated.
Yesterday, Minister of Health Dr Chitalu Chilufya announced that Zambia has recorded the second death resulting from the Coronavirus.
Dr Chilufya said the deceased is a 50 year old hypertensive man with a chronic cardiac condition who was referred the University Teaching Hospitals from Kafue on 5th April 2020.
The Minister said the patient was put on a ventilator until the early hours of the third day when he died.
Dr Chilufya said the patient was being managed in an isolation ward in the Intensive Care Unit and samples were collected which on the day of his death confirmed that he had COVID-19.
He said the Ministry of Health has mounted investigations and is conducting a robust contact tracing programme and all the close contacts have since been contacted.
Dr Chilufya said the man was staying alone and all the people that might have come into contact with him in the last days of his life have been contacted.
He said the Intensive Care Unit at the University Teaching Hospitals has been fumigated and all the staff that came into contact have been quarantined and are being tested.
Meanwhile, Dr Chilufya said 22 tests were conducted of which non came out positive.
He said Zambia remains with a cumulative number of cases of 40 having admitted one more person to the statistics with two deaths.
He said one more person has been discharged bringing the number of discharges to 25 while patients in admission are 13 who are all stable except one on oxygen.
Dr Chilufya said of the 13 patients, two are on the Copperbelt and 11 in Lusaka.
