Obey health guidelines

ONE of government’s greatest concerns, since Zambia recorded its first confirmed coronavirus cases in March, is the failure by citizens to fully adhere to prescribed public health control measures. Since the first covid-19 cases were announced, the Ministry of Health has been harping on the observance of health measures, urging citizens cooperate to stop the further spread of virus. But nay this has not been the case. Consequently, infections have spiked, with Zambia now recording over 267 confirmed covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours and three more deaths bringing the death toll to seven. The startling escalation of infections has yielded 85 new cases of covid-19 pushing the number of cases 267. Of the 85 cases, reported on Saturday, 76 are from Nakonde, effectively making the district the new epicentre. This development in Nakonde is a great source of concern but is not surprising at all. And why do we say so? Without sounding pessimistic or playing the blame game, the reason is simple. Some Nakonde residents like many citizens in other towns chose to defy the covid-19 guidelines with impunity and it was business as usual for them. For example, scores of Nakonde residents had secretly continued trooping into neighbouring Tanzania where the number of Covid-19 confirmed cases is high, to patronise bars and night clubs. This is despite empathic warnings by the government authorities in the town for people to refrain from making unnecessary movements to that country which has not declared any partial Covid-19 lockdown measures. It is unfortunate that citizens, not only of Nakonde but others across the country, have continued to deliberately defy the public health guidelines despite knowing the impact the disease has had on the economy. The latest depressing Covid-19 figures should therefore serve as a wakeup call to all citizens in the country to cooperate and stop the further spread of the disease and ease the risks posed on frontline health workers. Unless citizens realise the importance of avoiding unnecessary movements, observe social distancing, sanitise hands frequently and refraining from travelling to Covid-19 hotspots, among others, the disease will continue to ravage the country. Even more worrisome is the fact the some churches are in the forefront of paying a deaf ear to the health control measures and were putting the lives of their flock at risk. This is disappointing and is not as it should be. It is in this light that we support calls by government officials and the police for Apostle James Mwale, commonly known as Yakobo Yakobo and founder of the Restoration Apostolic Pentecostal Church International, to discharge all the 50 patients he is keeping in his church building in Ndola’s Itawa area. The police and health authorities are, therefore, on firm ground to advise Apostle Mwale to close the church building after discovering that 50 patients were accommodated under the same roof with goats but in separate rooms. This discovery is shocking especially that it involves a church leader who is supposed to lead by example in the fight against covid-19 by adhering to the guidelines. It is mindboggling that at time when the nation is battling covid-19 to avoid a catastrophe in the nation, the church was in the forefront to disobey the rules by keeping patients in rooms when it is not a hospital. This behaviour not only puts the lives of those being kept in the rooms at risk but undermines the nation’s efforts in the fight against the disease. We earnestly appeal to citizens to heed calls by government to adhere to the public health regulations if the battle against the pandemic has to be won. The Sun