Zambia’s health minister Sylvia Masebo has said Covid testing will be prioritised for people experiencing symptoms due to the limited supply of testing kits.

During the regular coronavirus update press briefing, Masebo said: “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten our lives and livelihoods. We are still in the midst of the fourth wave characterised by the highest numbers of new infections we have ever recorded; increasing numbers of persons requiring hospital admission and increasing numbers of persons dying from COVID-19 related complications.” She added: “We are running an open and transparent government under the leadership of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia Mr Hakainde Hichilema and we don’t shy away from telling the public the various challenges that we face from time to time.” 

The health minister added that testing criteria had been amended as a result of these challenges, with priority given to those with severe symptoms, healthcare workers and people admitted to health facilities with underlying conditions. Masebo said this was a logical approach as one in three people were infected and Zambia didn’t have the ability to carry out mass testing.

In addition, Masebo urged schools to ensure adequate measures were in place to protect students and teachers as classes resume, “to ensure public health measures are known and practised by everyone.”

Zambia recorded 1,485 new Covid cases out of 5,389 tests carried out over the past 24 hours. In total, up to now there have been 284,389 cases of coronavirus recorded in Zambia, and 3,817 fatalities.