DC appeals for  Covid-19 testing laboratory in Karonga

Karonga District Commissioner, Paul Kalilombe has appealed to government to consider providing a Covid-19 testing laboratory in the district, saying it is more prone to the virus.

Kalilombe was speaking Tuesday during a tour by members of the then Special Cabinet Committee on Coronavirus and members of Parliamentary Committee on Health and Media and Social Community Affairs to assess the district’s status of preparedness against the spread of the Covid-19.

He said a number of people both from Malawi and Tanzania use Songwe Border Post and uncharted routes for various errands, including cross-border businesses.

“The idea of having a Covid-19 testing laboratoryin Mzuzu is good. But considering the number of people that pass through the district to several parts of the country, it will be more efficient to have such a laboratory here.

“You might be aware that some people who have been tested positive to the Coronavirus in the country passed through Songwe Border. So you can imagine how important it is to have a Covid-19 testing laboratory here,” said Kalilombe.

The DC said currently, the district has turned an isolation centre which was meant for Ebola suspects into an isolation facility for Coronavirus suspected cases.

“However, the challenge is that the facility does not have a quarantine shelter for the health officers that will be attending to patients,” he said.

Member of Parliamentary Committee on Media, Health and Social Community Affairs, Martha Lunji commended the district for the initiative it is undertaking in the prevention of the virus.

Lunji also advised politicians against politicising the disease, saying doing so would be counteracting the Coronavirus prevention strategies which have been put in place by government through the Ministry of Health, thereby risking people’s lives.