Malawi has recorded 62 new Covid-19 cases, 20 new recoveries and one new death.
Of the new cases, 49 are locally transmitted: 17 from Blantyre, 14 from Lilongwe, five from Dowa, three from Karonga, two each from Neno and Thyolo, and one each from Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Kasungu, Machinga, Mangochi, and Mzimba North Districts while 13 cases are imported.
Cumulatively, Malawi has recorded 34,650 cases including 1,163 deaths (Case Fatality Rate is at 3.36%). Of these cases, 2,309 are imported infections and 32,341 are locally transmitted. Cumulatively, 32,793 cases have now recovered (recovery rate of 94.6%) and 232 were lost to follow-up. Currently, there are 462 active cases.
In the past 24 hours, there were seven new admissions in the treatment units while no case was discharged. Currently, a total of 19 active cases are currently hospitalised: 11 in Blantyre, five in Lilongwe, two in Zomba, and one in Thyolo Districts. On testing, in the past 24 hours, 772 COVID-19 tests were conducted. Of these, 280 tests were through SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic test while the rest were through RT-PCR. The positive cases out of the total number tested (past 24 hours) translates to a positivity rate of 8% while a weekly positivity rate (seven days moving average) is at 6%. Cumulatively, 254,698 tests have been conducted in the country so far. On COVID-19 vaccination, cumulatively 375,578 and 17,735 people have received the first dose and second dose respectively. Over the past 24 hours 2,001 people received the first dose and 3,949 the second dose. A total of 393,313 vaccine doses has been administered in the country so far.
“As we are registering an increase in the number of new confirmed cases, we have also observed an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients being admitted in out treatment units. Drawing lessons from the second wave, if we don’t act now and stop the further spread of the disease, we may experience a rapid increase in the number of new cases, admissions and deaths due to COVID-19. The rise in the new cases, if remain unstopped will entail that we bring back some stringent restrictions to curb the spread,” said Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda in a statement.
On COVID-19 vaccination, she said Malawi’s vaccine stocks are getting lower and some vaccination sites have run out of the vaccines.
She added that the Ministry of Health is in the process of re-distribution of the vaccine doses from those sites that still have the vaccine doses to those sites that have increased demand.
