First Lady speaks on Covid-19
First Lady Gertrude Mutharika has urged Malawians to be vigilant against coronavirus prevention since the country has not yet registered any case.
She was speaking yesterday at Sanjika Palace in Blantyre where she launched a prevention awareness campaign on the coronavirus outbreak by her Beautify Malawi (Beam) Trust.
Mutharika said all Malawi’s neighbouring countries have registered coronavirus cases which puts this country at high risk of the disease.
She said: “Covid-19 is a pandemic and it should not be underrated. Reports of thousand of people dying from the disease are scary. While we thank God that we have not yet registered a case, let’s continue to be vigilant in observing hygiene because prevention is better than cure. This is why we thought of coming in to work with our partners in fighting the pandemic.”
On sensitisation messages to rural people, the First Lady spoke of the need to engage village committees; health surveillance assistants as well as religious and traditional leaders to help in spreading correct messages and defuse myths surrounding the pandemic.
On his part, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri said in any disaster, preparedness is key and President Peter Mutharika’s declaration of a State of Disaster was part of Malawi’s preparedness.
Minister of Information, Civic Education and Communications Technology Mark Botomani commended the media and mobile network providers for working with government in promoting awareness on the coronavirus outbreak.
Blantyre City Counci mayor Wild Ndipo urged all residents and the business community to observe preventive measures, including hygiene.
During the function, Beam Trust donated buckets, soap, chlorine and other hygiene accessories to councils to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
