Dedza Station Officer (SO), senior superintendent Alexander Kaonga, has asked taxi and motorcycle operators to stop the habit of assisting returnees to get into the country using uncharted routes, saying this has a potential of escalating the transmission of Covid-19 in the country.
He made the remarks at Dedza border during interface meeting the station conducted with taxi and motorcycle operators.
Speaking during the meeting, Kaonga tutored operators that the returning residents are supposed to be screened at the border, to detect if they have the virus or not.
He underscored: “Those screened to be negative are left free to join their family members while those who test positive are supposed to be quarantined as way of terminating the risk of transmitting the virus to their immediate family members and the community.”
To this effect, Kaonga warned that the culture of assisting returning residents to use uncharted routess, will lead to the upsurge of the pandemic in Malawi
He also informed the operators that assisting someone to use unchartered roots is an offense punishable by the law.
Kaonga, therefore, issued a warning shot to the operators that those who will be caught doing the opposite, will be arrested and be taken to court.
There have been some occasions in the district where returnees have been intercepted by police officers for using non-established borders and after being taken to hospital some showed the positive results of Covid-19.
