Minister hails zero Covid death record, but warns of 3rd wave

He said frontline healthcare workers have borne the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic over the past year as they have continued to provide both routine essential health services and fight the pandemic. Dr Chanda however, disclosed that despite recording zero deaths, the country continue to have a lot of critically ill patients in its health facilities. He called on the country to continue adhering to Covid-19 guidelines to avoid the third wave of the pandemic which has been declared in some countries. Dr Chanda also said most countries in Europe and some in Africa including Kenya have declared a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and are preparing to head into further lockdowns. Dr Chanda also said Government remains committed to being guided by science and empirical evidence to inform the planned voluntary vaccination programme for Zambians. Meanwhile, the country has recorded 214 new covid 19 cases out of 5, 495 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases recorded to date to 86, 273. Dr Chanda also said a combined 396 discharges were recorded from both the Covid-19 isolation facilities and home management, bringing the cumulative number of recoveries to 83, 110. He said currently, the country has 1, 985 active cases, of whom 1, 851 are under community management and 134 are admitted to Covid-19 isolation facilities across the country.