As of 17 March, the government had shut all educational institutions and put in place some restrictions on foreign travel. Zambia reported its first 2 cases of COVID-19 in Lusaka on 18 March. The patients were a couple that had travelled to France on holiday. A third case was recorded on 22 March. The patient was a man who had travelled to Pakistan. On 25 March, President Edgar Lungu confirmed a total of 12 cases during a live national address. During March, 36 persons tested positive. All 36 cases remained active at the end of the month.
Zambia recorded its first death on 2 April. In total during the month, 70 persons tested positive and three died. The number of confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak reached 106. The number of active cases at the end of the month was 48.
May 2020
By 5 May, the number of COVID-19 deaths had risen to four. As of 22 May, Zambia recorded 920 COVID-19 positive cases against 20,011 people screened and tested. The president Edgar Lungu confirmed that the country had recorded 7 deaths and a total number of 336 recoveries. By 27 May, Zambia had recorded a total of 137 new cases in the previous five days, bringing the total to 1,057. Secretary to the Cabinet in Zambia, Dr. Simon Miti, confirmed that the country had recorded 443 recoveries over the previous five days bringing the total to 779. The recorded deaths remained at 7 and the active cases were at 271.
June 2020
On June 23, the country approved an eight billion kwacha economic stimulus package through a COVID-19 bond. In June there were 437 confirmed cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak to 1594. The death toll rose to 24. By the end of the month there were 241 active cases, a decrease by 11% from the end of May.
Impact on education
On 17 March 2020, the Zambian government announced that all schools, colleges and universities would be closed on Friday 20 March. General Education Minister David Mabumba announced that the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation - ZNBC - would open a channel dedicated to the provision of education during the closure of schools. Mr. Mabumba said that the new ZNBC channel would start on 13 April 2020. Mr Mabumba said for those who cannot access Television there would be other educational programs on radio. The minister said government would further introduce e-learning and other measures to allow pupils access to education.
Authoritarianism
The Zambian government has been accused of using the pandemic as cover for growing authoritarianism, suspending parliament to prevent the rejection of the Constitution of Zambia Bill that would weaken democratic institutions, as well as shutting down the main private television station on the basis that it refused to run government COVID-19 advertisements for free.
