LUSAKA, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government said on Tuesday that schools in areas where there was a cholera outbreak in Lusaka, the country's capital, will not reopen to avoid cross-contamination.

Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya said schools in all the areas cited as epicenters of the waterborne disease in the city will remain closed until when the ministry had conducted a thorough assessment of the situation.

Public schools were expected to reopen on January 15.

He told reporters during a press briefing that the number of cholera cases had continued increasing and almost reaching 2,000 with 48 deaths recorded and that the ban on public gatherings in the city applies to even schools.

He said the ministry was liaising with the Ministry of General Education to ensure that the safety of pupils at the schools, adding that inspectors have since been dispatched to check on the conditions at the schools by sampling the water as well as sanitary conditions in the affected areas.

The government has banned public gatherings of more than five people in order to contain cholera which has continued escalating since October last year.

Last week, President Edgar Lungu ordered soldiers to get involved in fighting the cholera outbreak.