. Chilufya

By SAM PHIRI –
GOVERNMENT has converted the Lusaka’s Heroes Stadium into an adult cholera centre following the rising numbers of new cases.
Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya disclosed this in Lusaka yesterday during a press briefing attended by Presidential Press Aid Amos Chanda emphasing  that the move was aimed at centralising the treatment centre and increasing  efficiency.
He said as provided in the statutory instrument number 79 of the Public Health act, the Heroes stadium would now be converted into a hospital to reduce on the number of treatment centres.
“We need to have a more central place that will enhance efficiency and deployment of resources, this will also ensure that we do not have cross contamination in a case where we have many cholera centres,” he said.
In enhancing treatment efficiency, the Minister announced that the new cholera centre will have an increased ratio of patient to nurse from one patient to two nurses to one to seven.
Dr Chilufya appealed to residents of especially Kanyama Township which is one of the centres to desist from street trading.
He had noted with concern low compliance levels of hygiene and precautions among Kanyama residents.
Dr Chilufya said the team will continue to inspect all food outlets and hotels to make sure they meet the required health standards.
Meanwhile Presidential Press Aid Amos Chanda announced during the briefing that in response to President Edgar Lungu’s initiative to fight cholera, five experts from Israel’s Sheppard Medical Centre  were in the country to support the initiative.
Mr Chanda said the team would help in the water engineering and that there were already on the ground collecting samples and gathering information in the epidemic and come up with a water purification mechanism.
And Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) also lent five vehicles to the ministry of health with fuel worth K25, 000 to health in the fight against cholera
The contribution was made during the same briefing by ZRA’s director of administration Callistus Kaoma.
By yesterday, 164 new cases were recorded from Lusaka and outside with there deaths. 156 cases were from Lusaka while eight were from other parts of the country.