By KALOBWE BWALYA
GOVERNMENT will be forced to take drastic measures if people continue to ignore Covid-19 regulations, Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary Elias Kamanga has said.
Mr Kamanga said the low levels of adherence were worrying. He said this when he inspected compliance levels at Lusaka Intercity Bus Terminus, Kulima Tower Bus Station, City Market and the Great East Road. He was accompanied by officials from Lusaka City Council, Zambis Police and Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA).
Mr Kamanga noted that people appear oblivious to the surge in Covid-19 deaths which has led to inadequate space at health facilities and morgues within the capital.
He urged Zambians to take the fight against Covid-19 seriously to avoid the pandemic from overrunning the already overburdened hospitals in the city.
The team also visited Soweto market and mounted a road block at Arcades on Great East Road where people without face masks in public buses were intercepted and ordered to disembark. Mr Kamanga stated that the high number of cases being recorded every day was creating a shortage of oxygen in health facilities. He expressed concern that some people had continued to take a casual approach towards the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Kamanga called for strict check-ups in all the public places such as markets and bus stations to ensure that all the people were masked up.
He said that all the markets and bus stations in Lusaka Province would be disinfected on Saturday and business would resume after the exercise.
