People in the country have held protests today against the 21-day lockdown, saying government has not considered poor people who live hand to mouth with no savings.
Traders in the city expressed concern over the lockdown saying they will not be able to provide for their families during the lockdown.
On their placards, the protesters argued that the Northern Region should not be locked down because no case has been registered in the region.
In Mangochi, a group of vendors in Mangochi also marched on Thursday to show disapproval over the lockdown.
The vendors petitioned the Mangochi district council saying they cannot survive the 21-day lockdown.
They argued that the lockdown would be acceptable if government had plans to provide food or money to citizens.
In Blantyre, traders have since notified the Blantyre City Council of their plans to hold protests over the lockdown. According to the businesspersons, they want the lockdown cancelled.
“We believe that locking us down with hunger, therefore, we are requesting our, president Peter Mutharika, to reverse the decision to re-plan it by considering the majority of Malawians who are poor,” the grouping said.
The Mutharika administration announced on Tuesday that it will lock down the country from 18 April to 9 May to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Malawi has recorded 16 cases of the coronavirus – six in Lilongwe, eight in Blantyre and one each in Nkhotakota and Chikwawa.
