Covid spreads to 10 districts
Co n f i r m e d n o v e l coronavirus (Covid 19) cases have hit 57 with the latest being registered in Mulanje and officially meaning that the pandemic has hit 10 of the country’s 28 districts.
Minister of Health Jappie Mhango, briefing journalists in Mzuzu yesterday, said the Mulanje case involves a 27-year-old man who came from South Africa on April 27 2020 through Mwanza Border Post.
He said: “He was on self-quarantine and being followed up by Mulanje District Health Office. He developed a sore throat, but with no fever. A sample was collected on 9th May and tested at College of Medicine laboratory [in Blantyre] where results came out positive.
“To date, 24 [cases] have successfully recovered and are well, three lost their lives and 30 are still under management by our health systems. The 30 cases are all clinically stable.”
Lilongwe remains the worst hit with 24 cases, including two deaths, followed by Blantyre with 16 confirmed cases and one death, Thyolo is third with eight cases while Mzuzu has three and one each in Mulanje, Zomba, Nkhotakota, Mangochi, Karonga and Zomba.
Mhango has since expressed displeasure at how politicians are handling the matter.
He said government will engage political parties on both sides of the divide to explain the seriousness of the pandemic and appreciate precautionary measures put in place to control its further spread.
Mhango said: “With how politicians are behaving, I tell you, we are living dangerously and we will fail to manage this one day. We will lose the battle. Politicians or elections come and go, but life comes once.”
Health rights activist Maziko Matemba said politicians seem to have forgotten the danger that is Covid 19, as they are prioritising politics instead
of people’s health.
Meanwhi le, Mzuzu Central Hospital has started screening outside its facility. Under the arrangement, no one is allowed to get into the compound before undergoing the process.
The hospital’s director Frank Sinyiza said the measures are aimed at ensuring that all people are screened and necessary action taken on time.
The Wor ld Health Organisation (WHO) states that health workers are at the frontline of the Covid-19 outbreak response; hence, exposed to hazards that put them at risk of infection. WHO says health workers’ hazards include pathogen exposure, long working hours, psychological distress, fatigue, occupational burnout, stigma, and physical and psychological violence
