MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-Health and social commentators have lashed at the Malawi government for responding slowly to the global pandemic of Corona Virus as the country registered its first cases yesterday.
Speaking in reaction to the Presidential announcement of the first case of Covid 19 yesterday, health expert, Dorothy Ng’oma, said the government has been responding to the Corona Virus threat with kid’s gloves as it has not been able to provide health workers with relevant medical equipment in readiness for the risk.
“Government has not provided any sanitary, protective wear for all health care workers: doctors and nurses. We have not even reduced the number of patients. We have not included extra health care workers. We are talking of three cases, what about those that have not been tested? My prayers is they should treat the three unless if we don’t have any more,” said Ng’oma.
While echoing similar sentiments, social activist, Emily Mkamanga, said government should cushion Malawians with socioeconomic initiatives so that they survive in the self quarantine period.
Mkamanga said: “We are being challenged with our way of life. For example, some people are very poor and they have to go to the market to sell something and if you say they shouldn’t go there because they are more than a 100 people, then they just have to think whether to die of the disease or to die of hunger. So, government has to seriously think of that.”
However government through its spokesperson, Mark Botomani, has played down the remarks saying, it has been taking a number of steps to keep the situation in check.
“We have been updating the nation at every step that we have taken from the day that the nation learnt about this virus. There are a number of steps that government has taken including the setting up of a cabinet committee by His Excellency the President as well as keeping all our borders and our airports under watch; having our medical teams there to all these checkpoints so that they could be able to screen and check everybody that comes in and goes out.
“Now, do they want to tell us that the countries that detected this disease also faced similar situation where they were not prepared or they handled it with a laissez faire attitude? So, I think all we can do now is to hold hands with Malawians to make sure we fight this disease now that we know that we have a confirmed case,” the Minister of Information said.
On Thursday, Malawi registered its first case of Covid 19; who are a 61-year old Indian-Malawian who traveled to India a couple of weeks ago, a relative and their house maid. President Peter Mutharika made this announcement on the state Television, MBC TV.