Brigadier General Dr. Lawson Simapuka, Dean of Medicine, Texila American University, Zambia, had commended Zambia’s government effort through the Ministry of Health to fight against COVID-19.
He says that for the fight against the pandemic to be more effective, the magnitude of the virus’ impact should be identified through mass testing and screening of citizens, and not only through sentinel testing and contact tracing.
Dr. Simapuka says contact tracing is appreciated, but the risk in it is not having a full view of the impact of the virus in the country.
He says the definition of the magnitude of the problem will give room for a holistic approach in properly addressing the pandemic.
He has called for the strengthening of diagnostic capacity and robust systems of contact tracing.
Dr. Simapuka says that businesses’ restrictions have been eased and people should take personal responsibility. They should ensure that they adhere to safety guidelines such as wearing face masks, maintaining social distance, hand washing and sanitizing, eating healthy, and following other general hygiene practices.
He has commended the government on releasing pressure on the economic sector to help it revert to almost normal.
However, he has insisted on citizens’ need to avoid slacking in their responsibility to keep themselves and their families safe.
Dr. Simapuka added that reusable 100% cotton masks could be used by all citizens, while surgical masks should be left to people with symptoms of COVID-19 and N95 masks to health workers.
Meanwhile, following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, Texila American University has created a free online course on what people need to know about the virus, its background, and how to protect oneself from being affected by the virus.
This article was originally published on Facebook.
