Kitwe Teaching Hospital Reportedly Turning Away Patients Presenting Covid-19 Symptoms
By Michael Kaluba
With Zambia’s Covid 19 cases and deaths on the rise, mass testing halted with Covid-19 test kits gradually becoming scarce and the country’s health systems overstretched, unsuspecting members of the public may be sharing public transport with some asymptomatic Covid-19 patients in Kitwe moving from one hospital to another in pursuit of both testing and medical attention.
Phoenix News has established, through a number of Covid patients currently in isolation at the hospital or at home, that Kitwe teaching hospital has been turning away patients with covid-19 symptoms to go and test at private clinics where Covid tests currently cost between K500 and K1000 with many unable to afford the tests.
Some patients talked to have wondered why they have turned away despite presenting symptoms at Kitwe teaching hospital for a private clinic where the result confirmed that it was Covid, especially that between Kitwe teaching hospital and private facilities, they would have come into contact with various people and could have easily spread the virus.
But Kitwe Teaching Hospital senior medical superintendent, Dr. Abidan Chansa has dismissed the claims as false saying the hospital no longer conducts mass testing but targeted testing as directed by the revised guidelines.
He clarified that only those that meet the criteria for a Covid patient would be tested upon recommendation from health workers that would conduct the assessment.
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