Ntsoaki Motaung
The war against Covid-19 is not over yet, ministry of health’s public relations manager ‘Mamolise Falatsa warned this week.
“We will say we have controlled the pandemic when we have reached what is call herd immunity through vaccinating against covid-19,†Falatsa said.
She urged all Basotho who have not yet been vaccinated to get vaccinated so that at least 70 percent of the population is vaccinated.
“As we speak, statistics show that we have not yet reached 70 percent of the population with the vaccine and that means we are still vulnerable. Everyone is still expected to follow the health protocols by the World Health Organisation (WHO) against covid-19 because it is not over,†she said.
She was speaking at the media training on health reporting and cyber security awareness held in Maseru.
The training started on Wednesday this week and end today.
WHO on March 11, 2020, declared COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.
At a news briefing, WHO director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted that over the past two weeks, the number of cases outside China increased 13-fold and the number of countries with cases increased threefold.
Further increases were expected.
Ghebreyesus said that the WHO was “deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction,†and called on countries to take action to contain the virus.
Lesotho recorded its first coronavirus case on May 13, 2020, becoming the last nation on the African continent to confirm an infection.
It recorded its first death related to covid-19 on July 9, 2020, by which time confirmed cases had climbed to 134.
Susan Ramakhunoane from the ministry of health vaccination programme this week said Lesotho was still lagging behind in the quest to vaccinate 70 percent of the population.
Ramakhunoane said only about 46.8 percent of the population was vaccinated.
Authorized coronavirus vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalizations and death from the virus.
WHO recommends that everyone, everywhere, should have access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The organisation has said it is determined to maintain the momentum for increasing access to COVID-19 vaccines and will continue to support countries in accelerating vaccine delivery, to save lives and prevent people from becoming seriously ill.
It encourages countries to continue to work towards vaccinating at least 70 percent of their populations, prioritizing the vaccination of 100 percent of health workers and 100 percent of the most vulnerable groups, including people who are over 60 years of age and those who are immunocompromised or have underlying health conditions.
