Lusaka, 17 January, 2021 / 2:00 pm (ACI Africa).
The leadership of the Zambia-based Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has expressed concerns about laxity in the implementation of the COVID-19 measures in the Southern African nation amid an upsurge in reported cases in the country.
In a Wednesday, January 13 statement obtained by ACI Africa, JCTR officials call on the country’s leadership to take the lead in enforcing COVID-19 preventive measures.
“When the first wave of COVID-19 hit Zambia in March 2020, we all scampered and took cover. Compliance to guidelines for fighting COVID-19 was at highest in the first three months. We soon developed familiarity with the virus as statistics played out in our favour with very few fatalities and very high numbers of recoveries,” the Jesuit scholars say.
However, they say, “complacency has since set in and we are now in harm’s way as COVID-19 has now resurfaced in Zambia with vengeance in a strain that is spreading more quickly and easily than the previous strains.”
The landlocked Southern African nation has been experiencing a rapid increase in new positive cases of COVID-19 since December.