Zambia has continued to face the negative health and economic impacts of COVID-19 as the pandemic has now evolved into a more severe and contagious third wave. As at end June 2021, the total number of cumulative COVID-19 cases stood at 154,948 with a daily positivity rate of about 25 percent. For the first half of 2021, economic activity started on a positive note as growth ‘bottomed out’ to 0.7 percent after contracting by 3 percent in 2020. Inflation over this period averaged 22.83 percent, about 8 percentage points higher than the 14.47 percent recorded over the first half of 2020. Domestic revenue generation increased and surpassed target amounts, but so did public expenditure, thereby yielding a fiscal deficit of about K9.6 billion.