Xmas celebrants defy Covid-19 measures
The threat of a second wave of Covid-19 did not stop most residents in Lilongwe from celebrating Christmas with the usual pomp and fanfare that included patronising drinking joints, get-together parties and fireworks that run through the night on Christmas Eve.
In most townships such as Kawale, Biwi, Area 36, Likuni and Area 49 loud music blared on till early hours on Christmas, the day Christians the world over celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Some churches, including Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) and the Roman Catholic, organised Christmas carols in their churches whose attendance was normal.
Prophet Shepherd Bushiri of Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) also organised a Christmas carol which was beamed live and watched by hundreds of Malawians according to comments monitored on Bushiri’s Facebook page.
In an interview Thursday evening Area 10 resident, Happy Chisoni, who we found having fun around Gateway Mall in the city, said he had to celebrate Christmas despite being aware of the threat of the pandemic.
He said: “Covid is real but again Christmas comes once in a year and it has to be celebrated.”
Other than worshippers business was usual in Lilongwe’s Old Town yesterday as most shops remained open and vendors thronged the streets.
Minibuses and motorcycle operators also went on with their businesses normally.
A minibus driver, Frederick Mussa, who operates on the Likuni route, said he asked his boss to let him do business on Christmas Day.
He said: “I need money to feed my family so I had to make this sacrifice. We will celebrate Christmas on another day.
In most churches that we visited, attendance was normal and there was no compliance with the 100 people-per-gathering rule as announced by government.
The worshippers also ignored hand-washing with sanitisers, wearing of face masks and did not keep social distancing.
In some districts in the Northern Region worshippers yesterday defied rains and gathered in their churches to celebrate Christmas.
At St Andrews CCAP, worshippers filled the church to capacity such that others had to sit outside.
A majority of the worshippers did not put on masks and inside the church, they did not observe the one-metre-apart rule.
Commenting on the non-observance of Covid-19 preventative measures, one church member, a NyaJere, said people think the pandemic has ebbed; hence, the relaxation in observing prevention measures.
And the situation was the same at Bible Believers Church where scores of people also gathered to hold their Christmas prayers.
The situation in Mzuzu was different from that in Karonga where worshippers at three churches we visited did not compromise observance of Covid-19 preventive measures.
A majority of the worshippers at Living Waters Church, Karonga CCAP Church (Nkhoma Synod) and St. Mary’s Catholic Church put on face masks, washed their hands and used hand sanitisers at the entrances as well as observed social distance.
The exception was Karonga CCAP (Livingstonia Synod) where worshippers did not observe social distancing.
Malawi reported its first case of Covid-19 on April 2 this year.
However, the country did not impose a lockdown as initially planned following a public outcry that culminated into a court order that blocked implementation of a 21-day national lockdown.
Yesterday Malawi reported 62 new cases bringing the total number of cases to 6 339 and 187 deaths.
