Chakwera bemoans reckless behavior of Malawi men in  Covid-19 prevention

President Lazarus Chakwera has bemoaned the reckless behavior of many men in Malawi in observing measures aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), saying such an attitude defeats efforts to combat the spread of virus pandemic.

In his weekly address to the nation, Chakwera  said government statistics indicate that more men in the country are infected with the virus than women and appealed to men in Malawi to strictly follow Covid-19 preventive measures.

“I am not concerned over this because I am a man, no. But the pandemic has shown that more people who are infected with coronavirus are men because in every 10 confirmed cases, seven of them are men,”  he said.

Chakwera has therefore sent a special appeal to men in Malawi to start strictly observing measures against spread of virus pandemic which include the wearing of face masks, washing hands with soap regularly or applying hand sanitizers and observing social distance.

“On behalf of all men, I should say all women should be reminding us men to follow these preventive measures because what we want is to successfully fight this pandemic to build the Covid-free new Malawi nation,” he said.

Dorothy Ngoma, a public health expert and a health rights campaigner, commenting on the matter, told Voice of America (VOA):“More men tend to smoke so their lungs are weaker. They drink a lot more and also when they are sick or they have a fever if it’s not serious, it’s mild, they will still go to work unless they are very, very sick they cannot get up.

“As opposed to women, when women are sick, they say it loud that they are not feeling well, they will seek treatment and they will stay home.”

Statistics from the Public Health Institute of Malawi show that 64 percent of confirmed Covid-19 cases are men.