ZAMBIA has in the last 24 hours recorded 1, 039 new Covid-19 cases, with four deaths.According to the update by the Ministry of Health yesterday, the country recorded1, 039 new cases out of 7, 890 tests, four deaths, and 146 recoveries.And Government has re-launched the Covid-19 vaccination campaign to curb the spread of the disease.Water Development and Sanitation Minister Mike Mposha yesterday joined Health Minister Sylvia Masebo at the mini re-launch of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Lusaka’s Chilenje Township.Mr Mpohsa urged the public to get vaccinated and follow the health guidelines.Meanwhile, Education Minister Douglas Syakalima said President Hakainde Hichilema was taking the fight against Covid-19 very seriously and his wish is to have two million Zambians being vaccinated by December 31.Officiating at the eighth graduation ceremony of Kwame Nkrumah University where over 1, 000 students graduated yesterday, Mr Sykalima also said the Covid-19 pandemic demands for innovation and ingenuity in the way learning and teaching is done in the country’s universities.The graduation ceremony was held under the theme “transforming challenges into innovation.” He said various sectors such as education, health, tourism and agriculture sectors, have all experienced the wrath of the Covid-19 pandemic which has greatly affected the economic performance in general.He cautioned Zambians against relaxing on observing the five golden rules, namely: washing hands regularly with soap, using hand sanitisers, masking up, avoiding crowded places, observing social and physical distancing.Mr Syakalima said the sixth rule was for all eligible citizens to get vaccinated. He said the challenges brought by the covid-19 pandemic, have prompted mankind across the globe and Zambia in particular, to think “outside the box” or “without the box”. “Covid -19 has taught us to be innovative and creative in the way we provide teaching and learning to the students,” he said. Mr Syakalima called on the graduating students to put the skills they acquired to good use so that they can have a positive impact on the country. He said teaching is a noble professional and teachers are very special people in every society because of their responsibility of inculcating values and morals into the young people through the subjects and courses.Mr Syakalima reiterated the new dawn government’s commitment to addressing youth unemployment in the country and confirmed that they will in 2022 employ 30,000 teachers. He also said additionally, government intends to build more secondary schools across the country, and all these will require teachers. Mr Syakalima said teacher recruitment plan should send a signal to parents in the country not to stop their children from pursuing a teaching career for fear that their children would not be employed.
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