THE Ministry of health says it has seen an increase in the number of COVID-19 daily cases, test positivity and the spread of disease across the country.
Minister of health Sylvia Masabo said that in the last 24 hours the country recorded 311 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths.
She said two of the three deaths are COVID-19 deaths saying the individuals died due to complications directly attributed to COVID-19.
Ms Masabo said in a statement that the cumulative number of confirmed cases recorded in the country is 336649 with 330658 (98%) recoveries.
“We currently have 1948 active cases, 29 of whom are admitted to hospital,eight of these being new admissions in the last 24 hours. Of those admitted, nine are on oxygen therapy and three are now in critical condition,”she said.
She also said that the current prevailing COVID 19 cases are reportedly driven by a sub-variant of the Omicron virus which is now called XBB.
Ms Masabo said the COVID-19 virus keeps generating new forms of itself as it continues to multiply across the globe.
She said similar to the Omicron virus, the XBB is said to have a high ability to pass from one person to another and here in Zambia we have confirmed that the current increase in the number of cases we are seeing is driven by this XBB.
Ms Masabo said the Ministry and other stakeholders have instituted measures to protect people from getting COVID-19.
She said some of the interventions were strengthened community and facility surveillance to ensure prompt identification and reporting of cases and intensified testing among other measures.
Ms Masabo also urged the public to be conscious of cholera and other diarrheal diseases.
She said every person must manage their waste saying the state of cities, markets, bus stops and community gathering places must be improved
(Mwebantu, Friday, 13th January, 2023)