By AARON CHIYANZO
SEVENTY-TWO people have died of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours while 962 patients are on oxygen therapy, Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary for Technical Services, Dr Kennedy Malama has announced. And some health experts have said the country is yet to peak.
Dr Malama said the Covid-19 vaccination roll out in Lusaka has been impacted negatively because of the delay in the arrival of the new consignment. He said patients had continued getting to health facilities late, in very critical state and some with saturations below 40 percent.
Dr Malama said reports of self-prescriptions and medications had also continued but urged the public to avoid this. “The breakdown of the new deaths by province is as follows: Lusaka 25; Copperbelt 19; Central 9; Eastern 4; Southern 4; Northern 3, Western 3, Muchinga 2, North-Western 2 and Luapula 1. “The cumulative number of Covid-19 related deaths recorded to date now stands at 2, 271,” he said during the Covid-19 situation update in Lusaka yesterday.
Dr Malama said the country now had 21, 142 active cases, with 19, 835 under community management while 1, 307 were admitted to Covid-19 isolation facilities. He said there had been some administrative delay in the arrival of the next consignment which had impacted negatively on the vaccination roll out in Lusaka.
Dr Malama said that for Lusaka district, all those who were due for the second dose from June 23 up to July 4, this year should get the second dose from Olympic Youth Development Centre and Woodlands A Primary School from today.
