LUSAKA, Zambia

Zambia reported a record number of daily coronavirus infections Wednesday, registering 5,255 cases in the past 24 hours.

Health Minister Sylvia Masebo blamed the surge on large gatherings and staff numbers at workplaces.

She added, however, that there are establishments that have been taking preventative measures against the virus.

"Churches, for instance, have been cooperating beyond the one-hour measure against COVID-19," said Masebo, referring to a measure in which churches are only allowed to meet three times a week for only one hour each.

“The government will in the next few days announce revised measures to ensure strict enforcement” of the rules, she added.

Masebo told reporters in the capital Lusaka during a routine pandemic update that the new cases were tracked out of 16,774 tests conducted.

She said the country recorded 10 new deaths in the same period, adding that nine out of the 10 were not vaccinated.

"The new cases now represent a positivity rate of 31%. All government offices are supposed to be fumigated in the next 48 hours and the private sector must consider doing the same.”

The country now has a cumulative total of 243,638 cases, with 214,209 recoveries and 3,726 deaths.

Around 1.2 million out of a targeted 3.6 million adult citizens are fully vaccinated.

Masebo further explained that 316 patients were admitted to isolation centers with 119 on oxygen support.