‘NO ONE ESCAPED FROM CHONGWE ISOLATION CENTRE’

REPORTS that a trader in Chongwe bolted after testing positive are false, Chongwe central ward councillor, Juvenalis Mulimbika has said.

He dispelled rumours of a welder from the main market escaped from isolation at Chongwe District Hospital after an alleged positive Covid-19 test.

Mr Mulimbika made the clarification when journalists visited him at his shop at Chongwe main market to verify the report.

He stated that he carried out investigations and established that the trader had indeed gone to the hospital to seek treatment.

The councillor said that the trader was tested for Covid-19 as per procedure, but that the test came negative and was only ‘detained’ to wait for the results.

He said that the brief ‘detention’ prompted some individuals to suspect that he was positive and they started spreading the falsehood.

Mr Mulimbika said that this created anxiety among the marketeers who were worried that the trader was freely interacting with people.

He advised the public not to rely on rumours, but verify any suspicion with the relevant authorities.

He said that rumour-mongering in the wake of the pandemic had a potential to cause unnecessary panic among members of the public.

Mr Mulimbika insisted that the local authority and the market committee were alert and would not allow any trader to continue operating if they were supposed to be isolating or in quarantine.

Chongwe district health environmental health technologist, Kelvin Mwakapushi, told the Daily Nation that the district health office did not receive such a report.

He however stated that it was important for people who were still waiting for their results to isolate until the results were confirmed.

Mr Mwakapushi said that this procedure must not be flouted as it was not safe for both those recommended for isolation and the public.