T HREE Zambians based in the United States of America have died after contracting the coronavirus, Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya has confirmed. He has also announced that in Zambia, three COVID-19 patients have been discharged. Dr Chilufya announced yesterday during the daily coronavirus update that the three were among thousands to have died of the disease in America.
“We have three Zambians living abroad that contracted COVID-19 in the USA and succumbed to it. May their souls rest in peace, we have other Zambian who contracted COVID-19 and they have recovered, we wish them well,” he said. Dr Chilufya said none of the Zambian students based in China has died and that the ministry has recorded no such case. Meanwhile, Kafue District has been mapped out as a potential COVID-19 hotspot, Dr Chilufya has said. And three more COVID-19 patients have been discharged after testing negative twice for the coronavirus.
Updating the nation on the COVID-19 pandemic yesterday, Dr Chilufya said Kafue district has been put under surveillance following the death of the town’s 58-year-old businessman on Wednesday last week. Dr Chilufya said contrary to public assumptions, the deceased was not admitted to Kafue District Hospital (KDH). He said the patient, who also had a cardiac condition, was taken to (KDH) in a comma and was immediately referred to the University Teaching Hospitals (UTH). “His COVID-19 tests were confirmed positive on Friday.
The post-mortem brought out significant findings that the deceased had cardiac condition and such patients have very poor outcomes when it comes to recovery from infections such as COVID-19,” Dr Chilufya said. He said all contacts of the deceased, the family and the contact at the hospital, as well as stakeholders in the intensive care unit were all tested. He said all the 51 test samples were negative from the deceased’s first generation contact and some of the second generation contacts. “However, Kafue remains a potential hotspot. We will continue calming the area with surveillance system and aggressive contact tracing to ensure that we reduce possible transmission,”
Dr Chilufya said. Dr Chilufya said despite the first round of suspects coming out negative, the surveillance team will remain active in Kafue looking at more networks. He urged people who were contacts to stay in quarantine and to cooperate with health authorities as a way of ‘calming’ Kafue. Dr Chilufya said an aggressive and robust contact tracing has been instituted in Kafue district. And news about the death of the 58-year-old man in Kafue has sent many residents in virtual panic and anxiety.
They want assurance that they have not been infected and are thus appealing to Government to conduct door-to-door tests to establish if the disease has spread in the small town. The residents are worried because they contend the prominent businessman interacted with a lot of people prior to the day he fell ill of CONVID-19.
There is also agitation among locals against foreign truck drivers who patronised the deceased’s guesthouse while in transit. On Sunday, the man was referred to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) where he later died on Wednesday. One of the Kafue residents, Richard Kalenga said he is concerned about possible numerous cases which could be undetected in the town. Another resident, Hope Mwanza, said conducting door-to-door testing is the best way to prevent any further spreading of the virus. “What is happening now is that the virus probably has already spread because of the contacts the man had with people,” Mrs Mwanza said.
She suggested a complete lockdown of Kafue to be effected immediately. Another resident, Cephas Changala said some foreign truckers often stopover in Kafue when it is not necessary. Kafue Member of Parliament, Mirriam Chonya has supported calls from residents to have door-todoor mandatory testing among the residents.
“I was in the field carrying out sensitisation programmes when the news came. People are now afraid and I think the best is to have a testing centre at the Kafue District Hospital or indeed better still have the door-todoor testing,” Ms Chonya said. Meanwhile, Dr Chilufya said the three newly discharged persons bring the total number of recoveries to 28, leaving 10 still in admission. He said out of the 10 COVID-19 patients, eight are in Lusaka and two are on the Copperbelt.
“The two on the Copperbelt are stable, seven in Lusaka are stable. For Lusaka, one remains ill and is surviving on oxygen. However, he has posted significant progress and we remain optimistic,” Dr Chilufya said. Dr Chilufya said another 23 tests were conducted bringing the total number to 74 tests in the last 24 hours. All tested negative of the coronavirus. Dr Chilufya said 2,072 persons have completed the 14 day quarantined period and have been reintegrated. He said 545 alerts have been picked and all have been cleared as nonCOVID-19 cases.
“We are expanding testing to various community areas that are hotspots. Our facilities countrywide will continue bed surveillance to individuals with flu-like symptoms and pneumonia. We will expand testing in communities to ensure early detection of cases to disrupt potential human-to-human transmission,” Dr Chilufya said. He appealed to all residents to wear masks to reduce possible infections. “Homemade masks are as just as good, so use them,” Dr Chilufya said.