Eleven countries including Zambia have been added to a UK travel ban list after a new mutant strain of Covid-19 was found in South Africa.

Amid fears over the new strain, the South Africa travel ban has been extended to any southern African country, including Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique and Angola — as well as Seychelles and Mauritius, the UK Government has revealed.

Meanwhile Israel (and Jerusalem) are to be removed from a list of travel corridors for England following “data showing a significant increase in confirmed cases” in the country, the Department for Transport said.

Brits returning from banned countries will need to quarantine for 10 days from 4am on Saturday, January 9.

Both patients and bed-siders at Ndola Teaching Hospital (NTH) have expressed concern over charges levied on them for every service they receive from the health institution.

A bed-sider, Clara Mumba told ZANIS that the institution is charging K100 for newly born babies, failure to which the mother will not be discharged and K200 for babies born with deformities whose mothers will also not be discharged until payment is made.

“We thought NTH was a government institution where we can at least be given free services and free medical attention,” she said.

Ms. Mumba alleged that sometimes, even after payment is made, the institution does not provide medicines but gives a prescription, a situation she said is not right.

And one of the patients talked to, Mwape Kasanda, suggested that government could get rid of the youth empowerment funds and channel the money to critical sectors of the economy such as health.

“If the money is used in health institutions, it would help reduce the number of deaths recorded therefore government should take this into consideration,” said Kasanda.

Meanwhile, Chisha Chisha, a mother who was waiting to be discharged from the maternity ward, said it was okay for government to charge for certain services but not maternity deliveries.

Ms. Chisha said this move will discourage many women from giving birth at health institutions.

She added that members of public run to government institutions to get free treatment because everyone there is treated equally but what is obtaining at the moment at NTH is disheartening.

She has since urged government and the relevant authorities to look into the matter before people resort to staying at home for fear of not affording medical fees when they fall ill.

And Ndola Teaching Hospital (NTH) Senior Medical Superintendent Joseph Musowoya refuted the allegations saying it is not all services at the institution that are paid for.

Dr. Musowoya noted that only services such as x-rays, lab samples, scans among others are paid for.

He said payments for certain services instill responsibility in the usage of drugs by patients and also contribute to revenue collection for day to day running of hospitals.

He has since appealed to members of the public to register under National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIMA) in order to ease payments at the institution.

Central Province Minister Sydney Mushanga has with immediate effect directed all local authorities in the region to consider cancelling all events that attract more than 50 people following the escalation in the number of COVID-19 positive cases.

Mr. Mushanga said it is regrettable that people in the province have continued to ignore Statutory Instruments 21 and 22 which have been put in place to help fight the spread of COVID -19.

Mr. Mushanga was speaking in Kabwe today when he officially opened a virtual Provincial Epidemic Preparedness meeting on COVID-19.

“I am also directing health as well as local authorities in the province to ensure marketeers and vendors adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines of masking up, social distancing and handwashing among others if the coronavirus was to be controlled,” he stated.

He has further directed public transport operators to ensure all their passengers were masked up before boarding their buses and taxis.

Mr. Mushanga described the second wave of COVID-19 in Kabwe as serious, further urging relevant authorities to also mount check-points where people coming into and out of the province were masked up.

The Provincial Minister added that transporters carrying unmasked travelers should not be allowed to proceed to their destinations.

And Mr. Mushanga has called on the officers at the provincial administration to take advantage of the screening exercise and ensure that they get tested for COVID-19.

“The offices at provincial administration would also be fumigated soon,” he said.

Speaking during the same meeting, Central Province Public Health Specialist Isaac Banda equally bemoaned the public’s poor compliance to health measures put in place by the government.

“The Provincial Health Office is equally having a challenge of contact tracing as some people that tested positive were denying the results and were not willing to share their residential addresses for ease contact tracing.

He said so far all districts in the province except Ngabwe were affected by the COVID-19 with an increased number of critically ill patients found at various health facilities.

Central province is trailing behind Lusaka in terms of increasing COVID-19 cases with Kabwe district in the province recording 153 cases in the last 24 hours.

Foreign diplomats in Zambia representing countries such as Britain and the USA itself international community have been called upon to condemn the acts of terrorists who threatening the peaceful transfer of power in USA.

The Zambian Institute of Governance and Civil Liberties Platform (ZIGGLAP) said it is deeply troubled with political happenings in the United States which have been sponsored by the US administration under President Trump.

“The current regime has sponsored local terrorists who besieged the US Capitol where Senators were having a constitutional session on the election of President-Elect Biden,” said ZIGGLAP Chief Executive Officer Francis Chipili.

Mr. Chipili said ZIGGLAP is concerned that some foreign diplomats in Zambia representing countries such as Britain and the USA itself international community have been dead silent on these happenings in the USA.

“These are the same diplomats who have been taking a leading role in condemning recent happenings in Zambia where two people were shot dead. These countries have also been supporting elements in Zambia who are sowing seeds of discord ahead of Zambia’s 2021 elections as part of the democratic process,” said Chipili.

ZIGGLAP has since ask Zambians to avoid taking the path being witnessed in the USA where politicians are sacrificing citizens at the altar of political expedience when these politicians lose an election.

“We urge Zambian parents to not allow their children and youth to be used. Don’t sacrifice your children,” said Mr. Chipili.

He asked Zambians to be wary of some clergy such as Archibishop Mpundu and civil society organiusations who are mobilising them for such similar actions which contribute to breakdown of law and order as well as loss of life as has happened in America.
Mr. Chipili reiterated the message by Zambia’s President that no politician, including himself, is worth dying for.