Zambia sex workers praised for coronavirus contact tracing

Sex workers in Zambia have been praised by the country’s health minister for helping to trace people who may have contracted the coronavirus, following a surge of new infections at the border town of Nakonde. 

 Dr Chitalu Chilufya said 76 of 85 new reported cases in the northern town were either sex workers or lorry drivers. 

“Sex workers have been very co-operative and they are giving us all the leads we want”, the minister said. 

However, Dr Chilufya added that “the situation in Nakonde remains grave, and the president is concerned. He said President Edgar Lungu had now ordered for the border to be temporarily closed.

Nakonde’s streets are usually full of lorries either leaving Zambia or entering from neighbouring Tanzania. The drivers are seen as a high-risk group because they stop at several towns along the way and are known to have multiple sexual partners.

In East Africa, health officials have expressed concerns that lorry drivers could be spreading coronavirus. This has led to strict checks at borders, such as the tests carried out by Ugandan authorities, which have caused long tailbacks at its border with Kenya.

Zambia has so far confirmed 267 Covid-19 infections, with seven deaths.

Last week, President Lungu announced that restaurants, casinos, gyms and other non-essential businesses could reopen after a month-long shutdown.

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