By KASONDE KASONDE –
ZAMBIA has recorded a third Coronavirus (COVID-19) death – the 19-year-old girl who had attempted suicide – as well as its first two cases of infected medical staff, both of whom were involved in treating the girl.
A further two cases surfaced in the on-going mass screening of Kafue, raising the national count to 61, exactly one month since the first COVID-19 was detected in Zambia.
Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya confirmed the death of the 19-year-old during his daily briefing on the pandemic in Lusaka yesterday.
Dr Chilufya said the girl’s death was precipitated by the effects of a herbicide that she had taken when she tried to end her life, explaining that the drug had caused respiratory distress and irreversible multiple organ failure.