The Zambian government on Friday lifted all COVID-19 restrictions as the number of fresh cases continues to decline, reported CGTN Africa.
“Following the reduced transmission of COVID-19 in Zambia, the government has decided to lift the restrictions,” Health Minister Sylvia Masebo said.
The government had imposed restrictions on gatherings in venues like places of worship and bars since last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Zambian health minister said there will be no limits on the size of religious gatherings, while bars, markets, shops, and nightclubs can all operate as normal and everyone can go back to work from Saturday, October 2.
Masebo said the lifting of the restrictions will be re-examined after one month. She said mask-wearing, social distancing measures, and regular disinfection of public spaces will continue to be followed.
The minister also warned that Zambia could suffer large numbers of seriously ill people and deaths in a fourth coronavirus wave, considering the fact that just three percent of eligible people in the southern African country are fully vaccinated.
“If indeed the projected fourth wave will be worse than the third, our low vaccination coverage puts us at a higher risk of severe disease and death. Let us all take advantage of the available vaccines and get vaccinated,” the Zambian minister added.
Zambia, a country of 18 million people, has reported over 209,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 3,650 deaths so far.
On Thursday, President Hakainde Hichilema urged the people to get themselves vaccinated, saying that he, his wife, and his children had all completed two-dose courses.
The country’s health authorities have been inoculating the people with Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm vaccine doses.
Notably, just over four percent of eligible people have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus across Africa, far behind the rates above 60 percent seen in the world’s wealthy nations.
