Malawi: Health Minister warns against complacency in fight against COVID-19

Minister of Health Khumbidze Kandodo-Chiponda has warned Malawians against complacency in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic now that the figures of infected people are going down, according to a news report by Nyasa Times.

Chiponda shot the warning on Thursday in Mangochi when she received a donation of personal protective equipment (PPEs)worth K37million from the Trade Development Bank(TDB) for Eastern and southern Africa.

The minister described the novel Coronaviruses unpredictable, saying some countries are registering a second wave of the pandemic.

Chiponda said, "Some countries are having a second wave of the pandemic after figures dropped and now the numbers of infected people and those dying are rising again.

"Our goal as a ministry and as the government is to ensure that we have no new infections and to achieve that we need to keep our guards up at all times."

The minister, who is also Co-chair of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, described Mangochi, and Mzimba as high-risk districts as they have large numbers of people traveling to South Africa most of whom are now returning home.

She disclosed that close to 6,000 Malawians who are returning home are stuck at Beit Bridge and that government is sending buses every week to get a good number of the Malawianshome per turn.