SO the Zambian authorities may consider easing some of the existing Coronavirus (COVID-19)-related restrictions, in the next two weeks!
That is if the country continues recording further slumps in the number of COVID-19 cases.
Truly, the situation in terms of infection figures looks brighter with the national virus positivity down to five per cent in the latest update that also gives another single-digit of death count at seven.
Like we always say, any death of a human being is one too many, but comparing to the time when the country used to lose as many as 70 and more people to the virus, at the peak of third-wave between June and July, the COVID-19 landscape is now heartening.
Health Permanent Secretary in charge of technical services, Kennedy Malama rightly said yesterday in a statement that the Government was encouraged by Zambia’s COVID-19 positive outlook with positivity down to five per cent in the latest update.
That was after recording 152 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths from 3, 409 tests conducted.
However, the country needs to move cautiously to further lower the national positivity for the virus to the much-talked-about-less-than-five per cent, for guaranteed control of the pandemic in the country.
Rightly and positively the country has to maintain the positivity at less than five per cent for the next two weeks to inform further easing of the various restrictions currently in place, some of which have adversely affected many economic sectors.
The challenge, therefore, is for all stakeholders, including those who are more adversely affected by the restrictions, to continue adhering to the measures which have proved helpful thus far.
Currently, with about 3, 659 active cases out of which 3, 370 are under community management and 289 admitted to COVID-19 isolation facilities with 26 new admissions recorded, things are really looking up.
Although we do not expect to return to the complete old life as we used to know it, where masking up was considered a bizarre thing, social distancing unheard of and sanitizing a luxury, we are hopeful
of some semblance of usual life, despite the new normal.
That calls for continued concerted efforts from all so that the country could guard the gains it has so far made in the fight against this pandemic.
This is the only way the citizens can protect themselves and others.
Interestingly, for the virus, the more one protects oneself the more one protects others as well and vice versa.
Therefore, people should generally adopt the life of protecting themselves and others from the virus as a norm.
Otherwise, lifting some restrictions without the citizens having to painstakingly play their role could trigger another wave or resurgence in the number of case for the virus and its brutal effects.
For now, we continue hoping that one day thing would get back to normal or to just what used to be considered normal before the COVID-19 struck the earth.
While under the current new normal, everyone should endeavour to protect oneself and other as a new norm, as already alluded to.