Zambian Parliament forced to adjourn after MP died of Covid-19

Zambia’s Parliament was forced to adjourn after a legislator, Mr Rogers Mwewa, died of coronavirus.

The legislator from the North of the country recently fell ill and had tested positive for Covid-19. He died and was buried on Tuesday.

The country’s Vice President, Inonge Wina, said the escalating cases of Covid-19 had necessitated adjournment of the House.

Ms Wina bemoaned increasing cases of the virus despite the implementation of measures to combat its spread.

The Vice President and Speaker of the National Assembly, Patrick Matibini, will on Wednesday lead other MPs in a mass testing exercise at Parliament Building clinic in Lusaka.

Zambia’s health minister Chitalu Chilufya said the virus had spread exponentially the last few days.
The pandemic has spread to 44 districts in the country, he told Parliament.

Zambia’s Clerk of the National Assembly, Cecilia Mbewe, announced in a statement that as of July 15, the 19 cases recorded included three MPs, 10 National Assembly staff and six non-staff.

Zambia’s virus cases are commonly reported in urban areas, but fears are alive that the disease might spread into rural localities.

The cases have surged the past few weeks with 108 deaths recorded so far.

Due to the pandemic, the country’s economy has been left struggling with President Edgar Lungu moving to ask China for “debt relief and cancellation”.