By MAIMBO MWEEMBA
Ministry of Health Permanent secretary technical services Kennedy Malama says the increasing tendency by some people to self-prescribe and self-medicate using Zinc, Vitamins, Ivermectin and Azithromycin among other medications is regrettable.
Dr Malama has urged members of the public to adhere to various prescribed public health and social measures further amplified through the Directives made by President through the Secretary to the Cabinet on 18th June 2021.
Government has assured Zambians that it is doing everything possible to bring the Covid-19 situation under control.
“As a collective, when we implement these interventions fully we will see significant reduction in new cases, admissions to hospitals and deaths in the next three weeks, we therefore urge all the enforcing wings to ensure that there is heighted adherence to prevent further loss of lives,” he said.
“The dangers of self-prescription cannot be over-emphasized., people place themselves at risk of severe adverse reactions, dangerous drug interactions including incorrect self-diagnosis and treatment, and we are also getting reports of people administering Oxygen by themselves at home. All these practices do not only delay appropriate treatment but lead to avoidable deaths,” he said
Dr Malama said that government has assured members of the public that Government has put in place a multi-pronged approach to ensure that the oxygen supply is stabilized countrywide.
Dr Malama said that Lusaka is the supra epicentre and contributing an average of 31% of the daily disease burden.
He said that the country has recorded its highest number of death, 61 in the last 24 hours, since the virus was first reported in the country.
“In the last 24 hours, we recorded 3,594 new confirmed Covid-19 cases out of 12,880 tests conducted giving 28% positivity; this brings the cumulative number of confirmed cases recorded to date to 140,620. A total 100 Districts reported cases of COVID-19 with 69 Districts reporting 10 or more cases,” he said.
Dr Malama said that the country now has 22,867 active cases, of whom 21,624 (95%) are under community management and 1,243 (5%) are admitted to the Covid-19 isolation facilities.
“We cannot bend the Covid-19 cases, admissions, and deaths curve from Hospitals but from our communities. We all have a role to play at individual, family, institutional and community levels,” he said.
Dr Malama revealed that in government’s quest to increase space, Chilenje Hospital in Lusaka will be converted into a Covid-19 treatment centre in coming days.
