ZAMBIA has just jumped from 10,000 to over 11,000 laboratory confirmed Covid-19 cases in the space of a few days and this marks a worrisome escalation.
Lusaka remains the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic but slowly but surely cases are rising in other provinces.
It is sad to know that despite public awareness campaigns having been run on a daily basis since March, the general population is still remiss about wearing face masks and observing social distance in a bid to eradicate spread of the deadly virus.
A cloth mask is intended to trap droplets that are released when the wearer talks, coughs or sneezes.
According to the Centre for Diseases Control (CDC) asking everyone to wear cloth mask can help reduce the spread of the virus by people who have COVID-19 but don’t realise it.
Cloth face coverings are most likely to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus when they are widely used by people in public settings. And countries that required face masks, testing, isolation and social distancing early in the pandemic have successfully slowed the spread of the virus.
While surgical and N95 masks may be in short supply and should be reserved for health care providers, cloth face coverings and masks are easy to find or make, and can be washed and reused.
Masks can be made from common materials, such as sheets made of tightly woven cotton. Instructions are easy to find online. Cloth masks should include multiple layers of fabric.
Why should adults be policed when the effects of Covid-19 are there for everyone to feel?
The globe has been brought to its knees and larger economies have swiftly restored lock down measures because of the threat of heightened infections.
We should not take it for granted that the current low numbers of fatalities downplay the debilitating effects of the coronavirus.
Many recovering patients have talked about the long recovery process once infected with Covid-19.
Many cases have to be well managed by medical personnel and this sees them working long hours and undertaking intensive screenings to ensure survival.
It is therefore worrying that many citizens continue to ignore public health guidelines.
Ministry of Health has continued to face low compliance levels among Monze residents with the district recording an increase in the cases.
Management of Covid-19 outside of Luska comes with its own complications.
Acting Director of Health Kelson Lungu said the biggest challenge was poor compliance levels among residents.
Mr Lungu said another challenge was delay in releasing of Covid-19 results as well as inadequate thermos-scanners in most rural health centres.
He said so far eight positive cases for the pandemic were imported while six were locally transmitted and that four have since been discharged.
“Our management of Covid-19 has been hampered by very low compliance levels coupled with inadequate thermos-scanners at most of our health facilities as well as delays in the release of results for samples in Lusaka and Choma,” Mr Lungu said.
He said this during a briefing on the COVID-19 status when Southern Province Minister Edify Hamukale visited Monze district.
While we applaud Government for the proactive stance in Covid-19 preparedness, it is disheartening that we the citizenry continue to put our lives at risk and continue to ignore the looming disaster.
Let us please improe our compliance, when in pubic wear a mask and remember to sanitise your hands to avoid possible transmission or Covind-19 infection.
