Malawi on Friday recorded 618 new COVID-19 cases, 71 new recoveries and six new deaths.
All the new cases are locally transmitted infections: 97 from Blantyre, 91 from Lilongwe, 86 from Mzimba North, 69 from Zomba, 52 from Neno, 43 from Karonga, 2 from Mulanje, 18 from Kasungu, 17 from Dowa, 13 each from Mangochi, Mzimba South, and Nsanje, 11 from Chitipa, 10 each from Chiradzulu, Mchinji, and Nkhotakota, eight from Rumphi, seven from Mwanza, six each from Chikwawa and Dedza, five each from Balaka and Machinga, three from Phalombe, two from Nkhata Bay, and one from Thyolo districts.
Two of the new deaths are from Lilongwe and one each from Mzimba North, Nkhotakota, Ntcheu, and Balaka districts.
Cumulatively, Malawi has recorded 11,223 cases including 291 deaths. Of these cases, 1,845 are imported infections and 9,378 are locally transmitted.
Cumulatively, 5,974 cases have now recovered, 134 were lost to follow-up, and 76 are still being investigated to ascertain their outcome. This brings the total number of active cases to 4,748. Of the active cases 146 are admitted: 60 in Blantyre at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, 39 in Lilongwe, seven in Mzimba North, six in Karonga, five in Zomba, four each in Mzimba South, Mangochi, and Kasungu, three each in Nkhotakota and Dedza, two each in Dowa, Mchinji, Rumphi, and Chiradzulu, and one each I Mulanje, Balaka, and Thyolo districts.
Malawi has conducted a total of Coronavirus 104,746 tests so far.
Chairperson of the Coronavirus Taskforce John Phuka said there is need for collaborative efforts to stop the further spread.
He noted that several schools have been hit. According to Phuka, the Ministry of Health is working closely with The Ministry of Education in doing surveillance in schools to ensure that the schools should not act as amplifiers of the COVID-19 transmission.
“We are in the second week after the schools opened, the cases being detected now could be as a result of the community transmission that we are experiencing. It is important at this stage that everyone of us including the learners and the teachers strictly adhere to the preventive measures to reduce the further spread of the corona virus amidst us. To ensure that the schools are not interrupted, I would like to remind parents, learners and teachers to strictly adhere to basic preventive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools,” said Phuka.
The preventive measures include regular handwashing, wearing masks and conducting disinfections.
