Various Stakeholders have welcomed President Edgar Lungu’s decision to extend the measures implemented to combat the spread of the COVID-19.
Speaking in an interview with ZNBC news, Private Sector Development Association Chairperson, Yosuf Dodia said that the extension is necessary because it will enable the country to contain the spread of the virus and praised Government for the measures put in place to mitigate the shocks that most SMEs have faced due to the impact of the Covid 19.
Mr Dodia said banks should also provide affordable loans that will allow the businesses to survive during the pandemic.
And, Zambia Medical Association President Samson Chisele, who supported the extention, urged the public to adhere to the measures put in place by Government.
Dr. Chisele said Government has tightened measures with emphasising on the need for members of the public to always wear face masks when in public places to avoid contracting the virus.
He also urged medical practitioners to ensure that they are always wearing protective gear, especially when operating around the medical facilities because they are high risk areas. Dr Chisele said the Government must also strengthen testing capability so as to ensure more people are tested and isolated.
Yesterday, Minister of Health Dr Chitalu Chilufya announced that Zambia has recorded the second death resulting from the Coronavirus.
Dr Chilufya said the deceased is a 50 year old hypertensive man with a chronic cardiac condition who was referred the University Teaching Hospitals from Kafue on 5th April 2020.
The Minister said the patient was put on a ventilator until the early hours of the third day when he died.
Dr Chilufya said the patient was being managed in an isolation ward in the Intensive Care Unit and samples were collected which on the day of his death confirmed that he had COVID-19.
He said the Ministry of Health has mounted investigations and is conducting a robust contact tracing programme and all the close contacts have since been contacted.
Dr Chilufya said the man was staying alone and all the people that might have come into contact with him in the last days of his life have been contacted.
He said the Intensive Care Unit at the University Teaching Hospitals has been fumigated and all the staff that came into contact have been quarantined and are being tested.
Meanwhile, Dr Chilufya said 22 tests were conducted of which non came out positive.
He said Zambia remains with a cumulative number of cases of 40 having admitted one more person to the statistics with two deaths.
He said one more person has been discharged bringing the number of discharges to 25 while patients in admission are 13 who are all stable except one on oxygen.
Dr Chilufya said of the 13 patients, two are on the Copperbelt and 11 in Lusaka.
A loan is not a way to assist a business that has closed. A grant is more appropriate. You get shut down for a month, get a loan for consumption at home and when you open, your income is reduced due to repayments?? Wow….
If the zambian businesses based on zambian soils agree with our approach,then who are you in diaspora ,who doesn’t even own your own home, to say this is wrong? You are a mere labourer abroad and want to talk on behalf of zambian business owners? You chaps in diaspora can be arrogant and big headed. Long gone are days when people respected you just because you are in a cold country .
@Kz; which Zambian businesses are you talking about? The article has only mentioned two associations- one by Yusuf Dodia and the Medical association. Zambian citizen had said it all. For once let’s try to be objective in our interactions.
Zambian Citizen has a point. @ KZ no need to take it for rivalry when bloggers outside Zambia analyse local issues. We are all Zambians, no matter where we reside or what profession we have. We are equally concerned about the economy and I know that a number of diasporan Zambians are already doing business there or in the process of repatriating so they are directly affected by some of these policies.
To start with, I am a Lusaka resident. My point is western countries are not loaning but GIVING packages to businesses to help them stay afloat. South Korea didn’t shut down at all and they have managed the outbreak better than USA and Europe put together. Markets and bus stops and streets like freedom way are bursting at the seams with no social distancing whatsoever yet some businesses have been shut-selectiveness??? No need to get worked up, KZ. Just that maybe some decisions were not thoroughly thought out and some homes have been hit in the pocket!!