GOVERNMENT has disclosed that it cannot cope with mass COVID-19 testing due to local and global demand of diagnostic test kits.
Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo says owing to increased community transmissions of the virus, her ministry has since revised testing criteria which will only prioritise those with symptoms.
Speaking at a media briefing this morning, Ms Masebo said the move is a logical approach adding that one in every three to four Zambians is infected, as such government cannot cope with mass test screening.
She said government will therefore prioritize testing individuals and grouping with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 such as individuals who are at risk of developing severe disease.
Ms Masebo said among those who will be prioritised are health care workers, those admitted in healthcare facilities with various ailments and symptomatic individuals in an institutionalised setting such as prisons, boarding schools and training camps.
“We advise that if you are a contact to a known case or at risk of acquiring the disease but have no symptoms, you do not need to be tested but must observe enhanced prevention measures. If you develop symptoms at any point, please get to the health facility for examination and possible testing,” she said.
And the Minister has disclosed that in the last 24 hours the country has recorded 1,485 new COVID-19 cases out of 5,389 tests conducted countrywide, giving a national positivity of 28%.
She said five deaths have been recorded in the last 24 hours, with two classified as COVID-19 deaths and three as COVID-19 associated deaths.
The Minister further said in the last 24 hours,a total 20,526 vaccine dose records which brings the total number of doses that have been administered to date to 1,941,928.
(Mwebantu, Monday, January 10th, 2022)