Covid-19 cases jump 100 mark in Chongwe

CHONGWE has so far recorded 134 cases of Covid-19 cases with one death, Chongwe district health surveillance officer Kelvin Mwakapushi has said.

Mr. Mwakapushi made the observation when he met Chongwe main market committee members to strategise on the preventive measures in and around the market area.

He revealed that the district had experienced a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in the second wave with the numbers going beyond the one hundred mark.

He pointed out that the number of Covid-19 positive cases were concentrated in the central part of the district and stressed that it was therefore important that the further spread of the disease is curtailed in order to save lives.

He said that the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was more dangerous and as such there was greater need to prevent its spread and noted that the Covid-19 preventive measures were not being followed as strictly they were in the first wave.

This laissez faire attitude, he said, would lead to an astronomical spread of the disease.

He reminded the market committee that the market area was a key area and as such the preventive protocols needed to be observed without excuse. He advised the market committee to ensure that the marketeers and customers adhered to the protocols.

Mr.

Mwakapushi also disclosed that the district Covid-19 task force was stepping up its sensitisation campaign in order to educate the people on the dangers of the pandemic. He therefore called on the market committee to take it upon themselves and educate the traders on the need for enhanced Covid- 19 preventive measures.

And Chongwe central ward councillor, Juvenalis Mulimbika noted that the community had generally relaxed their adherence to the preventive measures and called on the business community to help in enforcing the measures as this would have a negative effect on businesses if left unchecked.

He said that it was incumbent upon the business community not to allow customers to walk into their premises without masks or in breach of any of the protocols.

Meanwhile, market committee chairman, Geoffrey Mubiana observed that the local authority was not being helpful to the marketeers.

He disclosed that the market master who is supposed to be a link between the market and council is never found in the market and that this makes it difficult for the traders to communicate effectively with the council.

He said that collaboration with the council needed to be enhanced if the preventive measures will be enhanced in the market. He noted that the marketeers were making monetary contributions to council and yet the council was doing almost nothing in contributing to the cleanliness of the market.