NACOSEC warns Basotho on Covid-19
’MABELEME MOKETE and NTEBOHELENG SEKHUKHUNI
MASERU – The National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC) has urged Basotho to closely follow established Covid-19 restrictions to help safeguard the nation against the likely eruption of the pandemic’s third wave.
The Republic of South Africa, within which Lesotho is landlocked, “technically” entered its third wave of Covid-19 infections a week ago after recording 9 149 new cases in a 24-hour period on June 11, according to figures released by the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
NICD said for the past seven days, the average number of cases recorded was over 5 000, which exceeds the new wave threshold as defined by the Ministerial Advisory Committee.
“There was an increase of 844 admissions in the past 24 hours and 127 additional in-hospital deaths reported in the past 24 hours,” said the NICD, a division of SA’s National Health Laboratory Service.
NACOSEC publicist, ’Mateboho Mosebekoa, says the nation has to continue abiding by the Covid-19 rules and regulations to prevent the dreaded third wave that is expected to soon hit Lesotho if the locals fail to abide by the rules.
She said NACOSEC has no other new strategies to prevent Covid-19 besides the standing rules. Several people interviewed by these reporters in the Maseru CBD seem to think the worst of the pandemic is over, as many could be seen without masks. Even those who had their masks on were not wearing them properly.
In the Northern part of the country a number of schools have reported a high number of new positive cases of Covid-19, while in neighbouring South Africa the third wave is already in full swing in some parts of that country.
Meanwhile, the Lesotho National Federation of Organizations of the Disabled (LNFOD), in collaboration with the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office, has issued three papers on inclusive education, access to health and social protection along with communication materials.
This was revealed at a media briefing held at the LNFOD offices this week.
The papers are informed by the current Covid-19 related literature and perceptions of persons with disabilities through their representative organisations in terms of how Covid-19 has affected their lives.
The objective of the papers is to advocate to policy makers and programmers for the inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in the Covid-19 national response and recovery in the areas of education, health and social protection.
Further, the papers seek to enrich their knowledge and understanding when designing and implementing disability inclusive Covid-19 interventions.
The key message from all the papers is the need to leave no one behind in the Covid-19 national response and recovery by ensuring full participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities through their representative organisations in the social, education and health sector.
Lesotho confirmed its first case of the Coronavirus disease on May, 2020, after conducting 81 Covid-19 tests on travellers from South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
