By Duncan Mlanjira
From the 375 COVID-19 tests that have been done in the past 24 hours of Friday, the country registered no new COVID-19 related deaths and this has been the trend four days into the month of September.
In his situation report, co-chairperson of the presidential taskforce on COVID-19, Dr John Phuka as of Friday evening, Malawi has registered 15 new cases and 17 new recoveries as the downward trend in number of new cases and related deaths continue to be much lower in past two weeks.
All new cases are locally transmitted infections — eight from Blantyre and seven from Lilongwe and cumulatively, Malawi has recorded 5,608 cases that included 175 deaths since the first registered cases in April.
Of these cases, 1,129 are imported infections and 4,479 are locally transmitted and cumulatively, 3,533 cases have now recovered, bringing the total number of active cases to 1,900.
The country has so far conducted 46,411 COVID-19 tests in 45 testing sites.
Following the downward trend in number of new cases and and its related deaths, Dr. Phuka says in order to reduce further the new infections, there need for the public to continue limiting the human to human transmission within the communities.
Dr. Phuka
“Therefore, we need to test at minimum all those with symptoms to find those with COVID-19 among them, isolate and provide them with care and quarantine their primary contacts while all of us continue practicing the preventive measures wholesomely.
“These preventive measures should be our daily routine:
* Frequent handwashing with soap
* Proper wearing of mask
* Avoiding over-crowding.
* Practicing cough and sneeze etiquette and decontamination of most touched surfaces.
Coronavirus alert
“To further reduce COVID-19 deaths, we need to promptly inform the health authorities by calling toll free line 54747 or 929 whenever one is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, cough, flu, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell and tiredness.
“This will help us to identify the disease in early stages and correspondingly, allow for quick start of appropriate care that increases the chance of recovery from COVID-19 infection,” says Dr. Phuka.
