Minister of Health Jappie Mhango has warned Malawians against believing opposition politicians whom he said are telling people that there is no Covid-19 in Malawi.
Mhango was speaking during a press briefing held in Lilongwe today which monitored on MBC radio.
He said the opposition are propagating false information about the coronavirus.
“Let me warn Malawians to desist from believing the opposition.
“One day we will wake up with a lot of our people infected by the virus because of this attitude of carelessness on the part of the opposition because they are busy telling Malawians that in this country there is no Covid-19. Very sad indeed,” said Mhango.
Mhango then asked the media to go out there and tell people the truth.
He also warned that the coronavirus can hit anyone, whether they are in the government or the opposition. The minister said some people will only realise that the coronavirus is real when their families are infected.
“When people are trying to play games with this virus, some of us get very worried,” said Mhango.
Mhango’s remarks come days after plans by the government to lock down the country for 21 days were blocked by the courts after the Humans Rights Defenders Coalition applied for an injunction.
In Malawi, Covid-19 has killed two out of 17 cases registered. There Have also been three recoveries.
In a statement read at the press briefing, Mhango said the last reported death was on 11th April in Lilongwe and no new cases has been reported since the last confirmed case on 16th April.
“Out of the 17 total confirmed cases, 12 patients are still under observation but they are all well with very mild symptoms and some without any symptoms at all,” he said.
He also noted that a case that was confirmed on 13th April but there were few details for the person, involved a 39-year-old man who lives in Zomba.
“He traveled from the USA and arrived here on 23rd March, 2020. At the end of his quarantine, a team of health workers went to assess him for purposes of discharging him from self-quarantine. Upon assessment, he was found to have some mild symptoms (cough, sore throat and fever). A sample was collected which was found positive for COVID-19 by College of Medicine Lab. All his close contacts were traced and all the proper procedures were followed,” said Mhango.
