Zambia Faces 1,000 Covid-19 Deaths Per Day By August

Health Minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya has warned that Zambia could face up to 1,000 deaths from the coronavirus per day, if prevention guidelines are not followed. 

Dr Chilufya says funerals, kitchen parties, church meetings and other social gatherings are the main drivers of the pandemic in Zambia. 

Speaking in a ministerial statement on Tuesday, shortly before parliament was adjourned, Dr Chilufya warned that - based on epidemiological models - Zambia’s Covid-19 outbreak would peak by August. 

The health minister said the anticipated spike in cases and deaths would partly be due to a change in the weather as well as the possibility that the virus might mutate. 

He cautioned that Zambia’s health system risks being overwhelmed by the disease and thus it is essential that citizens avoid large crowds and wear masks at all times in public. 

The coronavirus has now spread to 45 districts in Zambia, infecting 3,386 people. 109 people have died from the virus so far. 

Dr Chilufya has also appealed to MPs to submit to Covid-19 testing, following the death of two lawmakers on Saturday as a result of the virus.