Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has urged people to relocate from towns to villages following the deaths of about 300 people in a cholera outbreak.
Poor sanitation in some densely populated urban areas was a good breeding ground for cholera, he said.
To decongest major towns, residents should relocate to rural areas where there was enough space and “perfect sanitation”, Mr Hichilema added.
More than 7,500 cholera cases have been reported nationwide since last October.
In the last 24 hours, there were more than 500 new cases and 17 deaths, the health ministry said.
The reopening of schools has been delayed as part of a series of preventative measures.
The disease has so far spread to eight of Zambia’s 10 provinces.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is to send about one million cholera vaccine doses in the coming days in a bid to contain the outbreak.
On Wednesday, Mr Hichilema visited the Heroes Stadium Cholera Treatment Centre, where there are more than 1,000 patients, in the capital, Lusaka.
courtesy of BBC