Today, the Minister of Health Hon. Sylvia Masebo MP held a joint press briefing with the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Hon. Gary Nkombo MP and the Minister of Water Development and Sanitation, Hon. Mike Mposha MP.

The following are the highlights:
✅ Government through the Ministry of Health has disclosed that in the last 24 hours the country has recorded a total of 457 new cases with 18 deaths.

✅ The Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo has expressed optimism that this downward trend is the beginning of the end of the Cholera outbreak.

✅ The Minister of Health emphasised the need for all those who fall sick to quickly go the nearest health facility and continued administration of Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS) fluids as the patient is being moved to the Cholera Treatment Centre.

✅ She noted that health care providers or frontliners have been provided with adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and that all the patients currently admitted are being provided with the best health care from the health practitioners.

✅ And Minister of Water Development and Sanitation Mike Mposha said Government has embarked on a programme of emptying 20,000 pit latrines and burying all shallow wells as part of the remedial measures to curb the outbreak of Cholera.

✅ Through WASH initiatives, Government has installed 238 water tanks with 10,000 litre capacity in the strategic areas of the cholera hotspots in a bid to combat the diseases.

✅ And Local Government and Rural Development Minister Gary Nkombo said Government has ordered the local authorities across the country to be stringent in terms of inspections on hygiene and compliance levels on licenses amongst the citizens especially those selling alcoholic beverages indiscriminately.

✅ Mr. Nkombo also announced the temporarily banning of collection of waste materials at dumpsites for recycling.

✅ He further revealed that Government has embarked on the unblocking of all blocked drainage systems as well as disinfecting public places such as trading places and bus stations.

✅ Mr. Nkombo also noted that among the long-term measures, Government will not allow all plastic packaging as this has proved to be a public nuisance and mainly the cause of blocked drainage systems and urged business persons to co-operate once that is implemented.