BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Minister of Health and population, Jappie Mhango has assured the general public that there is no confirmed case of COVID-19 in malawi.
Speaking during a press briefing in Blantyre, the minister also assured all Malawians that government has put in place all structures in preparation for any case of the virus in Malawi.
Government of Malawi through the special committee on coronavirus that was appointed on March 7, 2020 has put in place Health cluster committee and committee of technical experts in preparation for this outbreak that has affected 101 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and America.
According to the Minister out of 233 travelers from China, Italy, France, Germany, Iran and South Korea, 111 people are still under quarantine and self isolation in Malawi but so far, no one has being found with Covid-19.
The minister added that government of Malawi is putting together resources to ensure that there’s a laboratory that can be testing for the virus here in Malawi by the end of March 2020 and at the moment all samples of those under quarantine are being sent to South Africa for testing.
“111 people are still under observation now across the country to ensure our environment remain safe. Meanwhile, we’re sending all samples to South Africa for testing and this process is taking 48 hours to get the results.
“We’re hoping by the end of this month, we will have our own laboratory to test people and get instant results,” said Mhango.
Through the committee, government of Malawi has developed a costed preparedness plan with a total budget of MwK2.4 billion. In meantime, government is working hand in hand with other partners including UNICEF, WHO and DFID which has made a commitment to help Malawi with the sum of 1.8 million Pounds.
Malawi has also at the moment put no travel and trade restrictions as advised by WHO and all boarders will remain open to ensure people are using the proper routes so they can be screened for Covid-19.
Commenting on the matter, Minister of Information, Civic education and communications Technology, Hon Mark Botomani has asked member of the public to avoid spreading force information which can cause panic.
“We ask members of the media to avoid sensational reporting as this is a very serious issue and people ought to be given facts as laid out. Let’s work together as a nation in making information about this virus available to everyone as we did when we were dealing with Ebola virus,” said Botomani.
