COVID-19 CHECKED?

ZAMBIANS have reason to celebrate that the deadly coronavirus pandemic that has turned the world upside appears to be on the downturn in the country.

This is after Health Minister, Dr Chitalu Chilufya reported yesterday that the country has only 21 patients in various Covid-19 isolation centres with seven of them on oxygen.

But even as the nation welcomes this positive news, care should be taken that the health guidelines introduced by the Ministry of Health are adhered to.

Now is not the time to throw caution to the wind and return to life under the “old normal.” The public must still be guided by the “new normal” so that we might see a zero increase on new cases.

The country has registered a significant drop in infections, but Dr Chilufya urged the public not to drop the guard, but strictly adhere to Covid-19 regulations despite the reduction in cases.

During yesterday’s update on Covid-19, Dr Chilufya announced that the country had in the last 24 hours recorded 28 positive cases, bringing the cumulative number to 14, 830 while 19 have been discharged.

We therefore take this opportunity to remind the nation that this significant drop in infections could not have been possible had it not been for the focused leadership provided by Government and the Health authorities.

When Covid-19 cases surfaced in Zambia last March, there was a lot of apprehension as to whether Zambia could weather the storm.

The situation was made worse by some of the country’s key political leaders with their negative sentiments, doubting President Edgar Lungu’s government to deal with the pandemic.

They scoffed at the government’s response of not imposing a total lockdown as some countries had done in the region, notably South Africa.

But they failed to realise that the social and economic dynamics of Zambia were different. Government realised from the start that a huge part of the population were in the informal sector whose survival depended on what they earned each day from their little economic activities.

And to the government’s credit, the country has gradually been returning to normal under a phased programme.

Eating places that were closed due to Covid-19 fears have re-opened under strict health guidelines.

To the government’s credit, drinking places have been allowed to operate from Fridays to Sunday, thus saving hundreds of jobs.

Sporting activities though back on a reduced scale are likely to return to normal.

Still, the call to the nation is to avoid handshakes, continue sanitising and maintaining social distancing as well as wearing face masks in crowded places.

Zambians should take note that Covid-19 is non discriminatory by reports from the United States that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melanie had tested positive.

President Lungu is among a host of other world leaders who have wished a quick recovery to the Trumps.

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also wished Donald Trump a swift recovery yesterday.

Trump is pulling the United States out of the UN health agency, which he accuses of botching its response to the pandemic that emerged in China, and of being too close to Beijing.

But that aside, the bottom line is that Covid-19 can strike anyone regardless of status and Zambians should be on their guard, cooperating with the health authorities to keep the pandemic at bay.