The Kingdom of Eswatini is watching the space for any vaccine that will be approved by World Health Organization (WHO) and will be committed to start vaccination as soon as possible.
Speaking to Independent News, Minister of Health Lizzy Nkosi said WHO recently published a list of vaccine trials and as soon as the get approved the country will start vaccinations in the bid to suppress the novel coronavirus that has been plaguing the globe.
Meanwhile, Nkosi said the number of newly confirmed cases in the country is declining and it has been noted also in other countries in the Southern African region. Nkosi said however, ministry of health is interpreting the decline of the COVID-19 cases with caution as a group of epidemiologists are studying the situation on the ground through surveillance measures.
Nkosi highlighted on the number of tests being conducted by the ministry on daily bases that they have also declined mainly because of the new guidelines now focusing on testing those who have symptoms so that they receive treatment as soon as possible. Nkosi added that the main objective of the COVID-19 response teams at this stage is to prevent further increase in loss of lives, which means looking out for those who are unwell and ensure that they are tested early.
Prior to that, the ministry was focusing on testing almost everyone who had contact with a positive case regardless of having any symptoms or not. Perhaps that is why the ministry on the daily reports would receive a lot of tests results but now things have changed so does the number of tests received in the 24 hour cycle.
Earlier this month Prime Minister said the country needs to at least attain less than 50 active cases to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 through gatherings. Currently there are more than 700 active cases. Of concern is the high rate of deaths which now stands at around 2%, among the highest in the region.
Eswatini has recorded 4 994 confirmed infections as of September 10, along with 4 103 recoveries and 98 fatalities. The number of patients recovering for the past weeks have been increasing in a remarkable speed which took the recovery rate to steadily stay above 80 percent of the total number of infections. According to global data, there over 28 million infections recorded as of September 10, along with over 20 million recoveries. The death toll has passed the 900 000 mark.
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