HH Sets Out Plan To Tackle Coronavirus
Speaking from his residence in Lusaka on Monday morning, UPND President Hakainde Hichilema laid out his plan to tackle the spread of coronavirus in Zambia during a press-briefing that was broadcast live online.
During the briefing, the opposition leader attested to the seriousness of the disease, which at the time of the broadcast had three confirmed cases in Zambia. He reminded the public that “Coronavirus is real; coronavirus is deadly”.
Mr Hichilema urged politicians to follow the advice of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which tells African governments to take proactive measures and prepare for the worst case scenario. He said that Zambia must take an “aggressive approach” in combatting the virus.
In particular HH emphasised that for every one person infected with the coronavirus, the disease would be passed on to an average of 2.5 others. This means that after ten days an initial outbreak of one person could snowball into 1,600 people infected.
At present Zambia is poorly equipped to tackle the outbreak, with limited diagnostic capabilities and too few medical staff. HH said that it was particularly worrying that University Teaching Hospital (UTH) had only 18 ventilators, when many more would be needed to deal with any serious cases of the disease.
With this in mind, the opposition leader spelled out his 14 point plan for responding to the coronavirus, which was subsequently shared online via social media and major news outlets.
The plan is as follows:
Complete lockdown of Zambia for at least 2 weeks to halt the infection rate.
Enhance testing for COVID 19 and extend testing services to all provinces.
Mobilise retired medical staff to be on alert for a possible call to help and also enlist help from doctors in the private sector.
Procure enough medical equipment and protective clothing for medical personnel on the frontline.
Restrict unnecessary movement from homes.
Encourage all workers (private and public) to work from home.
Encourage banks to deal in electronic transactions rather than cash.
Restrict intercity (domestic) travel unless absolutely necessary.
Limit all gatherings to not more than 5 people.
Restaurants and cafes to operate ‘take away’ (fast foods) only.
Remove all import duty and other taxes on medical equipment and Personal Protective Equipment.
Reconvene Parliament to sit virtually and approve supplemental funding for COVID 19
Withdraw Bill 10 and channel resources to the fight against COVID 19
Parliament must exercise strict oversight on the funds approved for Coronavirus, and no corruption and theft of the resources should be entertained or tolerated.
Step 10 - to withdraw Bill 10 - follows the failure of the bill to pass its second reading last week after the UPND staged a mass walkout from the National Assembly. The constitutional reforms were effectively shelved when parliament was adjourned over the outbreak on Wednesday, with the UPND calling for the legislation to be permanently axed.
In addition to the proposed national measures, Mr Hichilema also called on ordinary Zambians to take additional healthcare precautions in tackling the coronavirus.
In particular he recommended regular hand-washing, avoiding handshakes or other unnecessary personal contact, and for people to self-isolate if they begin to feel unwell.
HH concluded that while individuals should continue to pray for Zambia, “prayer without action may not help the country” and he urged the government to act decisively against the ongoing outbreak.
