Bars and Night Clubs in Lusaka will, with immediate effect, start operating on take away basis to avert the escalating cases of COVID- 19.

The new measures will last for the initial period of 14 days subject to review.

The agreement was reached at during the meeting between LCC officials and the Bars and Night Club Owners Association of Zambia held at Civic Centre today.

Bars will be operating on take away basis on the days and times as guided by President Edgar Lungu.

As opposed to the total closure of bars, the meeting settled for operating on take away basis to allow operators clear the old stock.

Announcing the new measures, Lusaka Deputy Mayor, Christopher Shakafuswa, warned that any Bar and Night Club owners who will fail to comply with the new measures risk their licences being revoked.

And the Council has suspended all social gatherings for the next 14 days with immediate effect.

This means that no permit for social gatherings such as weddings, Chilanga Mulilo, Kitchen parties and Matebeto among others shall be issued.

Funeral gatherings have been restricted to only 50 close family members of the family.

Mr Shakafuswa also discouraged religious and political gatherings and devise other ways of reaching out to their members.

The Deputy Mayor urged authorities in markets and bus stations to ensure that commuters and traders adhere to COVID-19 guidelines at all times.

Mr Shakafuswa extended the call to vendors, adding that failure to do so may force the local authority to take other drastic measures.

And Bars and Night Clubs Owners Association of Zambia President Peter Mwale said his association pledges total support to new measures put in place by the local authority.

Mr Mwale said his association will not side with any members that will fail to comply because the measures are aimed at protecting both workers and patrons from contracting the disease.

According to the Ministry of Health daily COVID -19 update for 6th January 2021, the country recorded 850 new confirmed cases in the last 24 hours with Lusaka leading with 448 cases.

This is according to a statement by LCC Public Relations Manager George Sichimba.

The Drug Enforcement Commission in Lusaka has arrested Seven (7) people who include three (3) University of Zambia (UNZA) third year students for trafficking in over 30 grams of cannabis contrary to Cap 96 of the Laws of Zambia.

The three (3) UNZA students identified as Amadu Bah Mwansa, 22, Siddy Gadjo Mwansa, 22, and Kitonzui Mesala, 24, were found with 12.5 grams of special cannabis and one (1) suspected sachet of heroin.

Others arrested include Neyma Camara, 19, Robinson Chibwe, aged 28, Cloud Kabwe, a bus conductor and Mathias Banda, a bus driver for trafficking in 21.5 grams of cannabis. The four while driving a motor vehicle registration number ALD 5604 Pajero IO, were also picked from UNZA and are believed to be major suppliers of drugs in the area.

And in a related development, two (02) students from the Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (ZCAS) and three (03) others have also been arrested for trafficking in special cannabis.

Kachizya Mulenga, 20, and Choma Chato, 19, both students at ZCAS have been arrested and jointly charged with Shawa Mwale, 23, Gift Kumwala, 36, and Samson Sinkala, 25, for trafficking in 19 sachets of special cannabis.

The variety of cannabis found with the suspects and also referred to as special cannabis or ‘cheese’ on the market, is suspected to be imported from a named country in Southern Africa and also believed to be more potent than the locally grown cannabis.
Meanwhile, three (03) youths of Chilenje, in Lusaka have also been arrested for trafficking in suspected heroin.

Those arrested and jointly charged include Innocent Kakulo, 33, Ozias Kaundula, 21, and Chungu Chomba, 24, for trafficking in 15 sachets of suspected heroin.

The trio was picked at Chris Corner in Chilenje.

And in Eastern Province, a special operation was conducted in Shabati village of Chipangali District on 2nd January, 2021 where two (2) people were arrested for unlawful cultivation of fresh cannabis plants weighing over 400 killograms and trafficking in 25grams of loose cannabis contrary to Cap 96 of the Laws of Zambia.

The suspects identified as Gift Banda, 39, and Yona Phiri, 33, both peasant farmers of Shabati village, have been arrested and jointly charged for unlawful cultivation of fresh cannabis plants intercropped with maize weighing 421 kilograms. And in count two, Yona Phiri has been separately arrested for trafficking in 25 grams of loose cannabis concealed in a black polythene sack found in his bedroom.

Arrangements are being made for all suspects to appear before courts of competent jurisdictions at an appropriate time.
This is according to a statement issued by DEC public officer Theresa Katongo

About 4,339 people died before reaching the University Teaching Hospital between June and November last year.

That figure represents a big rise from the 3,117 recorded over the same period in 2019.

Now Zambian health officials are grappling with a wave of dead-on-arrival cases at the country’s main referral hospital.

The spike in cases may be related to residents not following Covid-19 guidelines, as well as to widespread misconceptions about the virus.

“We have recorded an increase in the number of Brought-In-Dead (BID) cases,” says Professor Lloyd Mulenga, Director of infectious diseases at Zambia’s Health Ministry.

According to Professor Mulenga, UTH recorded 4,339 BID cases from early June to early November as compared to 3,711 in the same period in 2019.

The people arriving dead at the hospital died from a variety of causes, not only Covid-19.

But Professor Mulenga said the spike may be related to the pandemic, reflecting a failure of many residents to comply with Covid-19 prevention measures.

As of mid-December 2020, Zambia had a total of more than 18,400 Coronavirus cases, of which 367 ended in death, according to www.worldometers.info, an independent statistics portal.

Covid-19 infections continue to rise, with many patients suffering from other diseases alongside Coronavirus.

The increased number of dead-on-arrival cases may be related to a growing tendency to self-medicate against Covid-19, in addition to failing to follow recommended preventive measures.

“In hopes of fighting the virus, many Zambians are using drugs that were developed to combat other diseases, or are taking “various herbal concoctions,” Professor Mulenga says.

“This undermines medical efforts to control the virus and prevent new infections.”

Dr. Nyambe Mukubesa, a resident doctor at the Ministry of Health, confirms that assessment

“Many citizens are abusing malaria drugs and other medicines to treat Covid-19, without seeking medical advice,” he says.

“So a surge in new cases is likely to remain a worry.”

Those views are confirmed by a survey of 1,035 Zambians carried out in March and April 2020 by Ipsos, the Paris-based market research and consulting firm.

The survey shows widespread misconceptions about the virus.

“Approximately half believe that Covid-19 can be prevented by drinking lemon juice and Vitamin C (54 %), or that a hot climate prevents the spread of the virus (49?%),” Ipsos says in a report titled “Responding to Covid-19: Highlights of a Survey in Zambia”.

In addition, the Ipsos report states: “One in four think Covid-19 can be cured with garlic (25?%), and sizeable minorities believe that Africans can’t get it (15%), or that drinking bleach cures it (9?%).

Some misconceptions cause needless anxiety.

“I used to think that the virus only affects the elderly or those with underlying health ailments,” says Mercy Chilongo, 33, who had Covid-19 and recovered from it. “When I got Covid-19, I believed it was the end of me.”

In some cases, people have correct information about preventing infection, but cannot comply. According to Ipsos, social distancing may prove very difficult in a country where many people do not have separate rooms to isolate infected family members.

But many prevention measures are within the control of residents, who nonetheless are not using them. “The improper wearing of face masks, with citizens dropping the masks when talking or wearing their masks on their chins, or not observing physical distancing, is a battle we continue facing,” says Health Minister Dr. Chitalu Chilufya.