MINISTER of Health Sylvia Masebo says 95 girls from Lunte Secondary School who had suffered a movement disorder have all recovered.
And Masebo says there were four covid deaths in the last one week, two of which were COVID-19 deaths while the other two were COVID-19 associated.
In a statement, Monday, Masebo said 95 girls from Lunte had all recovered from the movement disorder.
“On other public health events and threats, I am pleased to inform you that all the 95 girls from Lunte Secondary School that had suffered a movement disorder have recovered. The school is on mid-term break but our District health teams continue to monitor the situation,” Masebo said.
“With regards to measles, I am elated to note a controlled outbreak in North-western Province with no new cases reported in the last 24 hours. Our heroes in the fight against public health events and threats are recommended for their efforts and sacrifice.”
And Masebo updated the country on covid deaths.
“While the COVID-19 related death toll recorded reduced to 4 in this last week compared to 9 the previous week, we are saddened more so for the loss of young lives. Among the 4 deaths in the last week, 2 were COVID-19 deaths and the other 2 COVID-19 associated. The ages of the deceased are 77, 49, 33 and 24 years, hence my emphasis on loss of young lives being a concern. Only 1 of the 4 deceased was vaccinated against COVID-19. All eligible persons are urged to get vaccinated in order to avert severe COVID-19 disease and death,” she said.
She said the ministry recorded a COVID-19 death in the last 24 hours of a 33-year-old man who wasn’t vaccinated.
“Sadly, we recorded a COVID-19 death in the last 24 hours; a 33-year-old man with severe COVID-19 pneumonia but no co-morbidities. He was unvaccinated against COVID-19. The cumulative number of COVID-19 related deaths recorded is 4,008 with 2,864 classified as COVID-19 deaths and 1,144 COVID-19 associated deaths,” she said
“There are currently 1,003 active cases countrywide. Of the active cases, 30 (3%) are currently admitted with 15 on oxygen and 4 classified as being in critical condition.
We recorded the following vaccine dose entries: 4,117 dose 1; 6,770 dose 2 and 929 booster. The number of people who have received dose 1 vaccinations is now 2,700,888. 4,605,254 are fully vaccinated and this includes those who received the single dose J&J vaccine. Further, 422,566 have received their booster doses.”
She said the total number of admissions in the last one week had reduced.
“The total number of admissions last week reduced with 25 compared to 47 the previous week. The increased vaccination coverage would be attributed to the reducing number of persons requiring admission due to COVID-19. The national overall positivity dropped slightly to 5% after 3 consecutive weeks at 6%,” she said.
“The situation in the last 24 hours is as follows: Forty-one (41) new cases were recorded out of 1,031 tests performed. The cases were from across 12 districts, representing a national positivity rate 3%. There were no new cases recorded from North-western provinces. Of the new cases, two both from Lusaka required admissions, while on the other hand,136 patients were discharged from both home-based care and facility management.”
She said health workers needed to be celebrated on Heroes Day.
“Today, the Ministry of Health and all its statutory bodies celebrate the healthcare workers, the media, the different stakeholders including national and international partners all supporting the wellness of our country. We also celebrate with the general population for your individual and holistic support to preventing and controlling health issues affecting us. Indeed, the majority of the population if not all continue to be heroes in their own right especially in the last 2 years when we have all faced tragedy and continued challenges,” said Masebo.
“Tomorrow, we celebrate Unity Day, and it is timely for me to re-emphasise that to assure public health security, we must remain united. All of us have a role to play. Purpose of unity remains the key to winning the war against COVID-19 and other diseases and threats of public health significance. A recap of our epidemiological picture for the past week as relates to the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that in the just ended week, we recorded 940 new cases compared to 1,031 the previous week.”
She said the national vaccination coverage was now at 17.8% for dose 1 and 42.1% as full vaccination coverage.
