Malawi signs MoU with Masks for All to distribute 7 million masks nationwide

By Duncan Mlanjira

In his weekly radio address to the nation in which he was updating the country’s fight against COVID-19, President Lazarus Chakwera announced that the Government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an organization called Masks for All, which has already distributed 4 million masks nationwide and has pledged to distribute 3 million more.

This comes after the World Mask Week which was declared by World Health Organization (WHO) that was set aside from August 7-14 in an effort to raise awareness and promote the use of mask by the public.

Other new measures done by the Government was declaring as mandatory the wearing of face masks in public places following the Public Health (Corona Virus and Covid-19 Prevention, Containment and Management Rules, 2020) which was gazetted in Parliament over two weeks ago.

However, some of the Rules did not go down well with the faith community on restricting mass gatherings to just 10 people and Chakwera said his Government engaged with the faith leaders on how best they can work together to beat this pandemic.

“As a result of these consultations, a resolution was reached to limit all public gatherings to 100 people who must all wash their hands, watch their distance, and wear their masks.

“For their part, religious leaders and religious bodies have pledged themselves to continue being a shining example of behavioral change by disseminating accurate information about the virus and enforcing measures for stopping its spread.

“Since the virus seems to spread more quickly indoors where people are in close contact with one another, it is important that all of us remain vigilant when we are inside our homes, inside our places of work, inside our places of business, and inside our places of worship.

“Our goal in all these places is to keep them open and safe. We need to keep them open so that our way of life, our livelihoods, and our support systems are not destroyed, and we need to keep them safe so that our health and lives are not at risk.

“To do both, we need to support each other in observing our COVID-19 rules everywhere we are. By holding each other responsible for observing these rules, it will allow my Administration to keep fighting the pandemic as a matter of service provision, not a matter of law enforcement.

When the Public Health Rules were made public, co-chairperson of Presidential Taskforce Force on COVID-19, Dr. John Phuka outlined on the proper use of wearing surgical masks that include:

• Cleaning hands before putting on the mask.

• Inspecting the mask for tears or holes and not to use a mask that is damaged.

• Adjusting the mask to cover the mouth, nose, and chin, leaving no gaps on the sides.

• Avoiding touching the mask while wearing it.

• Changing mask if it gets dirty or wet.

• Cleaning hands before taking off the mask.

• Taking off the mask by removing it from the ear loops, without touching the front of the mask.

• Medical masks are for single use only; discard the mask immediately, preferably into a closed bin. Do not liter

• Wash hands with soap after removing the mask.

• If one is using a cloth mask, they must wash it in hot water using soap at least once a day.

Meanwhile, the President added that the education cluster of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 has already developed guidelines on what schools need to do to reopen safely.

“In fact, we will start assessing the readiness of each school this coming week so that the schools that meet our safety standards can reopen in early September.

“Similarly, the ministry of transport is making great strides in meeting the safety standards of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) so that we are now confident that we will safely open Kamuzu International Airport in the first week of September.

“When that happens, passengers arriving from abroad will need to have a certificate showing that they had been tested no more than 10 days prior, be tested again on arrival, and be transported to designated hotels for 48 hours of self-isolation while waiting for the results and before being directed where to go based on their results,” Chakwera said.