A 19-year-old female who tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to Chilenje hospital last week has died, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 3, Health Minister Dr. Chitalu Chilufya has disclosed.
He explained that the deceased who was admitted from Bauleni is the one who was brought in for attempted suicide and developed internal organ failure as a result of the poison she consumed and also tested positive for COVID-19.
Speaking at the latest COVID-19 update Sunday morning, Dr. Chilufya also announced that Zambia has further recorded four (4) new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours bringing the cases to 61.
He said the two cases involve Kafue residents one from Kafue estates and Kafue railways respectively while the other two involve a nurse and a medical licentiate from Chilenje hospital were the deceased was admitted.
He said a total of 397 cases were tested in the last 24 hours out of which 30 were done at Chilenje Clinic which brought out the two positive cases.
He said cumulatively the cases now stand at 61,3 deaths,33 recoveries and 25 active cases.
“The COVID-19 outbreak could be stopped if we follow President Edgar Lungu’s directive by enhancing social distancing, wearing masks, moral discipline. We have recorded 3 deaths and we can record more with poor compliance” Dr. Chilufya said.
He emphasized that Lusaka is an epicenter and discouraged routine and unnecessary visits and another gathering such as funerals and weddings.
“The strategy we have is early detection and we place a high premium on increasing community testing and screening. So you are going to see our teams in all specific areas and it will be increasing by the day” Dr. Chilufya said as he urged for a corporation with health authorities as they come into various communities.
And Dr. Chilufya disclosed that deployment of new health workers is progressing well and that they will be deployed in all ports of entry and said soon they will be seen conducting the massive screening and testing in various places.
sad development there!
The COVID-19 outbreak could be stopped if we follow President Edgar Lungu’s directive by enhancing social distancing, wearing masks, moral discipline. We have recorded 3 deaths and we can record more with poor compliance. Wise words from the minister. We ask that people follow the rules. Very unfortunate death of this young lady who made her condition worse by attempted suicide. This virus is not a joke. To all those taking it as a joke ,we will find you and ensure you face stiff punishment. Kz
Where is Edgar Chagwa Lungu with his directives!? You were warned to lockdown the country 1 half months ago. Very shameful thinking indeed! Passengers from high risk countries are still landing at KKIA what nonsense is that?
This covid is everywhere…..lying idle in each one of us….we just yet to know what’s triggering it…..from France, Pakistan, South Africa, Kafue, and now in compounds….the scary part is Will soon lose the contact matrix and boom!I shudder how it shall be with us when the boom becomes a boom indeed!
And some they say human rights nyo nyo nyo. Look we loose a human life bekoz a few rotten eggs does not follow president orders. So i find you no musk and walk chingulu, I just whip 5 strokes. Chabipa RIP young soul. Amen
“Chilufya explained that the deceased who was admitted from Bauleni is the one who was brought in for attempted suicide and developed internal organ failure as a result of the poison she consumed and also tested positive for COVID-19.”
Only Doctor Chilufya is capable of conjuring such lies …he will continue sweeping dirt under the capet.
Next he will rush to Bauleni and lock it down completely …then after 24 hours say no cases then say he has sent 20 suspected cases to the lab comes back and say oh those tests came back negative after 48 hours you will hear that there are 4 cases from the same area. Its all a shambles…
Thanks again to all health personnel and all those on the frontline risking their lives to protect our nation. This is a great challenge all over the globe but with everyone’s cooperation, it becomes easier for all to manage. We’re all in it together and we shall come out stronger together.
Shaa – Think past where it came from? Its in the compounds and this one was only found out because she came in for “poisoning” yet Chilufya is testing on average 60 people a day. WHO was not joking when they sated that Africa will be the next epicentre for this virus …its spreading imagine if this girl was in a rural area they wouldn’t even know…that’s how fallible Chilufya’s fight against covid-19 is.
We where were suppose to lockdown this country,but in your response as government you said that nobody has dead, and you went on by saying that unless people start dying.why do you still want to run the country, when you have failed to run it, the only achievement you have done is tribalism and appointing dull cadres
Dull cares indeed.
Shut down Lusaka.
Sounds like hundreds admitted to UTH has coronavirus. Suicide by poison turns into covid?
This lady tested positive to covid but just see how exposed the medical personnel and everyone was now just imagine someone living in Bauleni…we should be asking Chilufya if medical personnel are adequately protected.
“…While the other two involve a nurse and a medical licentiate from Chilenje hospital were the deceased was admitted.”
You see how the Doctor has carefully concealed this in his statement…Zambian journalist wake up? Where is the Medical Association of Zambia to quizz this liar Chilufya…the problem we have is all these unions and associations now have bootlickers and cadres.
Nine Chale – That fence must be hurting you are sitting on….what did we tell you two -three weeks ago? Its all shambolic with this PF govt of Lazy Lungu I wonder how anyone can still be in the job as minister given that this Chilufya specializes in this field of infectious diseases. They wont even tell you when they discovered when she had covid-19…its okay for you post soothing words as you sit there in Germany where they are on a roll in their testing. I wonder how many ventilators are even in Chilenje Clinic?
Lock down Lusaka ASAP or u wil have a catastrophe on ur hands u continue treating this disease with kid gloves
@Lusambo
Try whipping me I shall teach you a lesson your mother never taught you you stup1d brainless thug.
And what is this thing about issuing presidential directives? Zambia is not a monarch but a republic. Issue statutory instruments backed by law with clear sanctions for non-adherence rather than leaving it to a thug to enforce
Covid is well and truly blended into the population in Zambia. Our government, just like most dictator states like China, is not being honest regards the true extent of how this virus has hit us. They are failing the nation.
Right now, we just have to wait and see what Covid will do not just in Zambia but the rest of the world. More people will die, including us, or those that we love.
The only hope true we have now is a vaccine.
For now, let us show kindness to one another.
No one is safe. I mean no one.
Even those that have recovered can get it again.
The major rotten egg is the president who ignored calls to lock down the country and stop passenger flights into Zambia.This allowed the covid 19 to come into Zambia.
What you are seeing now are consequences of the BAD DECISION.Even human rights abuses by Bowman Lusambo and the police wont help the situation.
With a non existent capacity to handle a virus epidemic let alone Cholera.We can only hope that God spares Zambia from what is happening in other parts of the world.
“If we follow President Lungu’s directives…..”. This really sounds like Animal Farm were everything positive has to be attributed to Napoleon. What is wrong is just saying that if we follow the recommended precautions in the fight against Covid 19. By citing ECL you make it sound as though ECL is the one who came up with the precautions against Covid 19.
R.I.P TO THE TWO ZAMBIANS,
It’s not Lungu’s directive please it is World health organizations directive, what are you trying to achieve by mentioning his name lall the time, that is being insinsere. Mappets.
Those that are condemning the president for the corona virus in Zambia and want want to side with your small god advocating for a lockdown really use something else for thinking other than the brain. Look at the figures worldwide first before letting ECL making a decision that will kill more Zambians than corona. Are you people ready to sacrifice the masses so that your ka small god can win in 2021? This is satanism. You do not lockdown a country for the death of 2 to 3 people.
U are a sikuba. Retard!!!
At current rates of spread, we can only get a picture of how widespread the disease has hit us once we up our tests to at least a 1000 a day along line of rail. Wish we could have testing centres in Livingstone and Nakonde as well. The Tazara corridor needs to be catered for.
@Fonti even in the absence of massive testing, the death rates are an important indicator of how widespread the disease is. The number of deaths exponentially rises with the number of cases – this phenomenon can be observed in all epicenters.
Backward country indeed….died of suicide and later tested positive for COVID 19..do they’re tests after someone dies that this means more people are getting infected by the same infected person..PF bandit Minister Chilufya is full of bull$#@@
Lusambo, please tell your friends in health to start distributing the donation, sure even if you’re bloke as government you can even fail to buy fac mask for your citizen, but you’re busy troubling people. Ala insoni ebuntu na Lusambo, and if I was Dr. Chitalu, I would have resign to order to keep my professional.
But if it was election we would have seen the president all over the country.
Covid banda who you be ? Try us. We keeping lusaka in order. Come to my province and then you see
Klein ama donation yali fulu. Visit your niarest center were you can be acisted.
@ Nine Chale, yes that is correct but in country where post mortems are an exception, we risk having new hot spots festering below the “Covid radar” as the Kafue case has shown. If medics at an urban clinic like Chilenje can be infected so easily, think of Mpulungu/Nakonde hospitals for example that have to take samples all the way to Ndola..!! Let us just hope newly recruited medics are deployed quickly.
Covid banda means one on one. Laughable can’t stand by yourself.
Tarino Orange, First I thank you for aknowlledging that Dr Chitalu is not from the street. He said a total of 397 cases were tested in the last 24 hours out of which 30 were done at Chilenje Clinic which brought out the two positive cases. As the number of tests continue to increase we expect to see more positive results. Tarino, this does not mean things are going to the worse as was explained UNAIDS country Director. Of course we have to follow guide line so that things do not go to the worse situation . Using a crude method this means that if they had tested 3970 cases, 40 people could have come out positive or 39700 for 400 positives. Tarino, I thought this is what you were crying for, high testings. You should expect the curve to be going higher as Dr Chitalu and his medical team…
You should expect the curve to be going higher as Dr Chitalu and his medical team engage in massive screening and testing. This was case the with western countries as of now curves are flatteninng, this will be the case in this nation. My hope is not just flattening the curve but sloping the by following the guidelines suggested.
Now look at the Kafue and Chilenje deaths whom do you blame. The Kafue person, the problem he hide. The Chilenje person sees the problem she drinks poison to kill herself. Especially the Chilenje case, the relatives or neighbours could have contributed to this case. These peple could have known that their friend had this problem. Even at the clinic they could have not told the truth.
At the moment this country is much safer than where you are Tarino. I feel…
I feel at the moment this country is much safer than where you are Tarino. I feel Brian Mfula lecturer in UK who died on Friday after a “battle with Covid-19” and other Zambians if they had come back immediately this problem started right there. They could not have probably died. May Their Souls Rest in Peace
Anonymous ON April 19, 2020 At 4:55 pm
YOU STATE THAT THIS IS A Backward country indeed….died of suicide and later tested positive for COVID 19..do they’re tests after someone dies that this means more people are getting infected by the same infected person..PF bandit Minister Chilufya is full of bull$#@@
Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya said during an update in Lusaka on 17 th APRIL, 2020 stated that of the four cases, one is linked to the Makeni family who tested positive to the virus recently while another is from Kafue where a mass screening is currently going on. Dr. Chitalu said another new case involves a 10-year-old girl of Kabwe, whose family hosted Lusaka based visitors from Marapodi compound where the virus is suspected to have emanated from.
He said the FOURTH CASE IS…
He said the FOURTH CASE IS A 19-year-old female of BAULENI who was admitted to CHILENJE CLINIC and tested positive thereafter. MEANINING TESTED BEFORE BEFORE DIED. So it is you who backward Anonymous
Bowman and KZ and your useless govt are rubbish indeed. Firstly why have a camera following everything you do is that a Kardashian show you are running bowman takes on covid-19? This thing is not a joke so stop that nonsense otherwise people will have to set you straight because your govt is responsible for this for failure to heed to advice. Secondly, this fool goes round to long distance buses but yet local ones keep overcrowding people. Lastly people going to work go on these buses risk getting the disease and pass it to their families eventually becoming more like a death sentence to our entire communities. We can’t stop work or trade coz this will become even more devastating, we can’t lockdown now coz it’s already among us so what can we do?
Dr Chilufya, maybe our praise of the way you have handled COVID-19 was misplaced and premature. Looking at the latest cases exposes your serious lapses and which.may cost the nation dearly. How did the Kafue Covid victim find himself at UTH when all the symptoms presented at the Kafue clinic were clearly Covid? o me the issues are:
1. Have you sensitised medical staff at all clinics and hospitals on how to handle patients coming to their health facilities?
2. Have you taught them to handle all incoming patients carefully as if they were Covid-19?
3. Have you provided adequate PPE, i.e. face masks, gloves, hospital gowns etc?
4. My suspicions are that Dr Chilufya is not revealing the extent of inadequacies in our health systems, but the result is that we may end up losing the very…
…
4. My suspicions are that Dr Chilufya is not revealing the extent of inadequacies in our health systems, but the result is that we may end up losing the very scarce staff that we need at the forefront of ou COVID-19 fight.
Dr Chilufya, if we are going lose nurses, licentiates and doctors due to such silly and obvious lapses then we have lost the battle against COVID-19 and against all other diseases because who will attend to us for other illnesses and Corona itself? As you say yourself, then it means your commander would have failed since you claim that all the successes so far are due to him and his cleverness and good leadership etc etc blah blah.
….Dr Chilufya, please pass on the message to press secretary Chipampe not to sing praises too soon.
Every statement comes with an ‘attribute’ to ECL’s directive. Where is ECL in this fight? Still hiding under the desk at state house? History is replete with leaders who have stood forth before the people, assured them and galvanised them to fight what was before them. I ask again, where is ECL?