Covid-19 Team Urged To Be Tough On ‘Stubborn’ Bar Owners

Officers in the Covid-19 task-force have been told to clamp down on bar owners who are opening for business at all hours of the day, directly disobeying presidential directives designed to curb the pandemic. 

The District Administrative Officer for Mabwe, Geoffrey Mumba, has said that many bar owners - particularly in the Mfuwe area - are continuing to act in flagrant violation of the rules. He called for acton to be taken against those who refuse to comply with authorities. 

“We have done a lot of talking but it seems people do not want to listen. It is now time to make an example out of some of these bars by suspending their licenses and closing to serve as a warning to other would be offenders,” he said.

Speaking during a virtual epidemic preparedness committee meeting, Mr Mumba warned that Covid-19 remained a very dangerous disease and that it should be treated with the utmost seriousness.

He lamented that fines for non-compliant bar owners were having minimal effect as most could afford to pay the fine if they kept their businesses open after curfew.

The number of Covid-19 infections in Zambia appears to be climbing again after a prolonged drop in case numbers through February. The number of new infections recorded on Sunday was 410, with a weekly average of 555 new cases.