140 STUDENTS TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 About 140 learners

About 140 learners from three secondary schools have tested positive for COVID-19, Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo has told Parliament.

In a ministerial statement yesterday, Ms Masebo said of the 137 pupils who contracted the novel virus, 64 are from Kapiri Mposhi Girls Technical Secondary School and 59 from Chisamba Boarding School in Central Province.

A similar cluster of COVID-19 cases involving 14 pupils was observed at Nchelenge Secondary School in Luapula Province between February 22 and 27, 2024.

Ms Masebo said 12 pupils at Kapiri Mposhi Girls Technical Secondary School and 22 learners at Chisamba Boarding School had previously been vaccinated against the virus.

She said two pupils from Kapiri Mposhi Girls School were initially admitted but have since been discharged.

“I want to assure you that currently all the learners are stable,” Ms Masebo said.
The minister also said in the same period, nine deaths, out of which six were COVID-19-related and three confirmed COVID-19 deaths, were highlighted.

“The deaths have been in Lusaka, Mansa, Chingola and Mbala. All these individuals were not vaccinated against COVID-19,” she said Ms Masebo said through the routine COVID-19 surveillance system, the country has seen a steady rise in the number of positive cases beginning the last week of December 2023.

She said there has been an increase in COVID-19 positivity in the initial weeks of this year, with a total number of suspected cases captured at 17,860, with 3,292 (18.4 percent) cases having been confirmed.