By Duncan Mlanjira
As of Sunday, Malawi has registered two new deaths COVID-19 cases from the 129 new cases registered.
A statement from Co-chairperson of Presidential Taskforce Force on COVID-19, Dr. John Phuka says the new deaths are both females, one each from Lilongwe and Blantyre that occurred on July 2.
Dr. John Phuka (left)
“Let me convey my deepest condolences to the bereaved families,” Dr. Phuka said. “May their souls rest in peace. no new recoveries, and two new deaths.”
He disclosed that of the current update there are no recoveries and that of the new cases, 48 are from Lilongwe, 41 from Blantyre, 15 from Mzuzu, 10 from Mzimba South, four in Mwanza, two each from Mangochi, Nkhata Bay, Balaka and Thyolo, one each from Neno, Zomba and Dedza.
Coronavirus alert
“Cumulatively, Malawi has recorded 1,742 cases including 19 deaths, 317 recoveries and 1406 active cases.
The country has so far conducted 16,807 COVID-19 tests in 39 COVID-19 testing sites.
Coronavirus alert
“Let me highlight that Malawi has registered the highest number of new cases (129) in 24 hours. This calls upon everyone to take COVID-19 seriously.
Coronavirus alert
“Therefore, let me join His Excellency The State President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera in calling upon each one of us to join the fight against COVID-19 to ensure that we protect each other and our loved ones.”
Coronavirus alert
Following the rise in the cases, President Chakwera cancelled this year’s Independence Day Celebrations that were scheduled for Monday at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
Meanwhile, as of Sunday, July 5, South Africa — the main importer of Malawi’s COVID-19 cases — had the most recorded cases at 187,977 as the total confirmed cases on the continent 483,102.
Coronavirus alert
In most updates from Dr. Phuka, he always says most of Malawi’s cases are associated with travel history identified during screening at Mwanza border between, which is the entry point from South Africa.
According to the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University using statistics from the World Health Organisation and other international institutions as well as national and regional public health departments, the five African countries topping the list are South Africa, Egypt (74,035), Nigeria (28,167), Algeria (15,500) and Ghana (19,388).