The University Teaching Hospitals (UTH) have with immediate effect cancelled patient visitation by members of the public in a bid to prevent possible transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
UTHs Director of Clinical Care and Diagnostic Services Alex Makupe announced this in a press statement made available to the Lusaka Star today.
Dr. Makupe said this decision was in an effort to combat disease transmission to both patients and visitors and also to reduce overcrowding in the hospitals at any given time.
Only one bedsider per patient will be allowed and will be issued with a card by the hospital security for this purpose,
Dr. Makupe said.
He added that hospitals are places of highly infectious diseases therefore, members of the public and hospital stuff should be aware of this fact.
Dr. Makupe has since urged all Zambians to cooperate.
Today, Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya informed the nation that two first cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Zambia.
Dr. Chilufya said the patients are a Zambian couple of Lusaka who returned from a 10-days holiday in France.
Various institutions are taking precautionary measures to prevent or limit the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
The coronavirus broke out in China late December 2019 and has been spreading around the world.