Church Gatherings And Funerals Must Be Restricted - Lusaka PS

Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary Elias Kamanga has admitted concerns over the role of church gatherings and funerals in spreading the coronavirus. He has called for restrictions to be placed on public worship in order to drive down cases. 

Speaking during a virtual Covid-19 multi-sectoral committee meeting on Monday, Mr Kamanga noted that the deaths of several members of the clergy indicated that more needed to be done to enforce health guidelines in places of worship. 

He added that people were continuing to gather in large numbers at churches and funerals, despite government social distancing guidelines:

“This is the case even when the deceased is reported to have died from covid 19, people will be at funerals in large numbers disregarding the health guidelines,” he said.

He called on local authorities to enforce a 50 person cap on funeral attendees. 

In the same meeting, Lusaka City Council (LCC) town clerk Alex Mwansa said the city was overwhelmed by requests to disinfect both public and private buildings. 

“We have been overstretched in terms of fuel and chemicals, we need other stakeholders to come on board to render assistance. We have been writing to stakeholders to supplement the services.”

The central government has released an initial K250,000 to support the fight against Covid-19 in Lusaka Province, as cases continually to climb nationally. 

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health confirmed a further 1,476 cases of Covid-19, as well as 12 deaths associated with the disease.