Malawi at risk! 400  returnees escape from Covid-19 test centre in Blantyre

May 27, 2020 Owen Khamula - Nyasa Times 55 Comments

Over 400 Malawian returnees from South Africa have bolted from Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre where they were quarantined awaiting tests for coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Abandoned Covid-19 test centre at Kamuzu Stadium
Empty Kamuzu Stadium ground after returnees escaped
Scattered remains of food at Kamuzu Stadium

This raises fears of more covid-19 cases as the returnees are coming from a coronavirus hotspot country.

Government is already receiving stormy criticisms over its handling of the returnees, some of whom have been escaping from isolation centres.

The stadium looked deserted with empty bottles of water, remains of food and a few security personnel still guarding the stadium ground where the returnees were put.

The government failed to provide security to the returnees to prevent them from interacting with others as they were allowed to move around in the city and could go anywhere to buy food and other necessities.

Some of the returnees complained that the stadium had no water, no toilets and the government was not providing them with food.

Officials from the ministry of Health are yet to comment on the matter but this comes barely a day after eight returnees who tested positive of the coronavirus escaped from Kameza isolation centre.

They are yet to be traced.

Health activist Dorothy Ngoma said the escape was expected because of the poor handling of the returnees by the government.

She feared the whole nation is now at greater risk than ever before.

Malawi’s Covid-19 cases stand at 101 with four deaths and 60 active cases since the first cases were reported on April 2.

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55 replies on “Malawi at risk! 400  returnees escape from Covid-19 test centre in Blantyre”

  1. Is there a President in Malawi? I doubt. Or else he has gone completely senile. Can you imagine the DPP strategy to increase covid 19 cases so that they can justify a national emergency and postpone the election? At what cost? Must people die in order to keep Mutharika at state house and Dausi and Mchacha in the cabinet?

  2. Indeed our president is on autopilot. I now believe it.

    He has been wrongly advised again that increase the number of COVID-19 patients so that we do not go for elections. This is silly. How can you let our brothers and sisters in such a situation forcing them to flee?

    This is a very sad day for Malawi 🇲🇼

  3. Boma la ku chipsente, matubvi a boma, mbalame zokhazokha ananzenze, patiently waiting for His Excellence DR LAZ and Dr SAU to take us aboard

  4. I just don’t know how more incompetent the government of Malawi can get at this point. Let’s get these numpty clueless thieving people out of our government.

  5. The government is typically to blame for this mess. It looks like they have a sinister aim behind. How did you expect people to stay at a facility without toilets or bathrooms and with litle food? The government has recieved millions of Kwackas for the Covid response but the money is no where to be seen. Ndiye mumati anthu akakudyereni kwa amanu. Stupid government

  6. Do we have a leader in this country? Why import a deadly disease to its own healthy people. Is it your motive to wipe out all people.

  7. Deliberately dumped in the middle of Blantyre so that more damage will be caused. Elsewhere those in quarantine are well fed; not here where you get mgaiwa and nandolo. At least a khwangwala have a great time.

  9. At 1st , I was of the view that these returnees are heartless
    But I watched Mibawa tv from 8~9 pm on 27.05.20 during their Special Program co~hosted by Chawezi Banda.
    What I saw was very pathetic.
    The program showed how preparedness our govt is as far as the Convid pandemic is.
    And one wonders where all the said publicised grants and loans monies for the Convid 19 are going to.
    Chilima akamati anthuwa akuba ndalama za convid 19 , sakunama ayi

    NB:
    If you want the program to be re~broadcast , contact Mibawa.
    It was worth watching , an eye opener of how careless and useless our govt is as regards to the pandemic at hand.

  10. If the government is serious about this how come such a situation is allowed to happen. Some of them it is understood are dpp hired thugs paid to disrupt the coming elections. Hence just allowed to disappear.

    Also a pretext for the government to inflate corona positive cases or those sick from it to continue to abuse the massive corona funds recently received from abroad.

  11. Malawians have to know that these are patients not prisoners to be under arrest. All the people with HIV in Malawi , who has ever been arrested for fear of transmitting it or been provided with security to monitor him? It is the responsibility of these people to be responsible citizens to their loved ones and the community to isolate themselves wherever they’re going similarly it is the responsibility of an HIV positive person to use a rubber and inform those around him.

    1. Akulu, what we are talking about here is Corona and not HIV.These are two different diseases,the way they spread is different and the number of people that
      an be affected /contracted whithin a given period is different.Munthu ungathe kusankha to contract HIV but thats not the case with corana.

      As much as i agree with you that these people are not prisoners but what they have done including the government is foolish and irresponsible.Both dont deserve to be called citizens.

      Infact,the goverment officals were supposed to fired and those people traced and arrested.

    2. You have to understand that the probability of infection is high in Covid19 compared to HIV. He

    3. @Hardy you are a complete idiot an embecile. You can not compare COVID-19 and HIV. Corona virus can be transmitted to an innocent person without any contact. Please think before commenting

  13. Firstly I scolded these returnees BUT after speaking to a relative cos I was of the view that no sanr person can deliberately wish to infect the grannies, mummies and all those family members in short loved ones. But after listening to his side of the story the government is equally to blame. You can’t just put the people at Kamuzu Stadium without proper arrangements & expect them just to sit there. Why dont we have a Testing Centre at the port of entry especially Mwanza being the busiest? These guys are coming from RSA a very long journey in the bus. What is our government doing? Or there is no government? I forgot that the country is on Autopilot.

  14. That’s what happens when you have ungovernable Government, zikatero Njobvu zionenge tsopano, Boma ili ndila anthu akuba okhaokha. Instead of giving these people food and what ever a human may need they are busy , using money for compaign for Election. Koma or mpakana kuthawa??? Kikkkkkk Ka small lockdown kakanikaso? Maiko ena amaika soldiers and Police officers where they quarantining people,while Malawi they don’t want to pay the Security but rather pocket the money. Oh shame! Hahahahahaa zovuzedi.

  15. Mukudandaula anthu 400 pamene anthu miyandamiyanda akupita mmisonkhano ya chipani no social distance. Our leaders have chosen politics over safety. One day they will wake up and realize there is no country to govern as everyone will be dying.

  18. Izi ndiye zofuna. Anthu okwanura 400 kuthawa. Ayi something wrong with security

    1. Government is deliberately bringing the people from RSA and mistreat them so they can run away into the community. They want the numbers to rise fast so there want be election. They want to be telling us that it’s because we refused lockdown. These people must really go. How can they expose people including their supporters to such deadly risk just to remain in power.

  19. PLAYING AROUND WITH COVID-19 FOR POLITICAL MOTIVES WONT TAKE US ANYWHERE. WE HAVE SEEN ON TV AND WE STILL SEE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE DYING FROM THIS DISEASE BUT WE ARE STILL NOT CONVINCED THAT A MALAWIAN CAN GET IT EVEN AFTER A GOOD NUMBER HAVE GOTTEN IT. KODI NDI KULODZEDWA MAKOSANA? WHAT KIND OF GOVERNANCE IS THIS WHEREBY 400 PEOPLE WHO HAVE MANAGE JUST TO WALK OUT OF THE FACILITIES WITH EASE KNOWING SURELY THAT AT LEAST ONE OF THEM HAS COVID-19 SYMPTOMS. NDE AMENEWA ALOWE MMAKOMO MWATHUMU MU NDIRANDE, MTANDIRE, MWANSAMBO, MACHINGA, MANGOCHI, LILONGWE, AND MZUZU. TIPULUMUKA? BOMA LANJI ILI LOSASAMALA AMALAWI? KODI TINAKULAKWILANI CHANI?

  20. And one wonders how returnees can escape a quarantine area which is well guarded. Muli ndi zolinga zoipa

    1. They are under quarantine not prison watch the tv.. it’s not only Malawi that has this problem. Government has no right to detain these people. Do people with HIV or malaria get detained??

      1. The problem in Malawi is that when the people here are told to self isolate they don’t in other countries the people do self isolate when being told to. Here in Malawi like every thing else people don’t take anything seriously and by the way malaria is not contagious.

      2. Kumalawitu paja timafya ndale do alekeni able athu adziyenda momasuka okufa akufa basi .

      4. @Kwawo Kwawo – you must be one if those people who have escaped.You dont know what you are saying.

  24. I do not understand why you repatriated them if YOU DO NOT HAVE enough financial support to assist them. how can you just keep people at one place without giving them food, sanitation and proper security.
    your aim is to spread corona so that the incoming elections may fail. but in the name of heavenly father Jesus christ your plan will not work. what you wish for other will turn to be your fates. kolona mufuna kufalisayo mutazadwale ndi inu ndi mabanja wanu

  25. The escapees are a security risk to our country. Quickly government should publish their names to warn the general public. The police should catch them. This is an embarrassment to the government. What kind of a nation are we? This is very sad yet a presidential task force on covid19 has got two breathing men as its chairpersons. Malawi!!!

  26. Ndalama za ma billion chilandilire no guts!!! Panono aziti Malawi has registered 500 new cases. It is a deliberate action

    1. Ukuti blame Kenyatta Nyirenda, ndiwedi Cadet oputsa kwambiri , Unaona Kenyatta kukatenga anthu ku South Africa , ndinu nomwe a DPP ndi UDF amene mukubweletsa chisokonezo mudziko muno pofuna kulumpheretsa chusakho ,

  28. How can the whole government with so called educated personnel behave like children? Can you go to south africa and get returnees without proper preparation. What was the difference between leaving them there on lockdown with what you did to them here? Dont fool us. This is a deliberate move so that you should scare people and make the fresh election fail. Mhango and your agogo dont come to the tv and tell us the danger of covid and yet the same government is full of dirt politics. Lock down failed, all other avenues to stop election have flopped. If i were you i would just accept and give up. So you think by doing so more aid will be coming. Mwalemba mmadzi. It is paining malawians to hell

  29. Foolish government.irresponsible bunch of people.Why then should you continue rulling this country?

  30. Fanzi with brains here in Malawi expected this to happen
    DPP is playing a game thinking we will not know they are behind the scenes and its them who have made a plan for the guys to bolt

  32. DPP knows and Jappie is happy that the scheme has worked. This shows lack of seriousness on the part of government,. Ministers without wisdom… Izizi zongotolana ku deport kuti siya kuitanila ma min bus ukhale nduna ndi zimenezi. DPP government without good plans koma kuba

  33. Aaa nanga nkutani poti malawi ali ndi mixed views. JB, SKC, etc says kulibe corona let it be adzakhulupirira iwo amene atadwala. Sitawonera VP wa ku Sudan uku atagwidwa naye covid pamodzi ndi ma body guard onse and his wife

  35. The government wants more covid 19 cases in Malawi so that the elections would be stopped. Before the arrival of these people it was obvious that we would reach the peak with very few cases. Since the model said there would be hundreds of infections the government got free money which has been shared and abused. With the peak date ( 6 June)fast approaching and no significant rise in infections they had no choice but to infect the population . The model expects more infections from the 10 of June Peter Munthalika you have never loved Malawians. God is our protector!!!

  36. What do we expect from a ‘government’ that does not care about its citizen? All its officials are out campaigning for the no-show, hibernating caretaker president and now the whole Malawi is in danger of contracting the disease. Maybe it is a deliberate move to let the disease spread in the country so that the impending elections do not take place! Whatever reason it is, the hibernating man should come out of his hole and control the situation! How many days ago was he last seen in public? Pathetic indeed!

  38. Achita dala Jappie Mhango kuti anthuwa athawe. Mwinanso anawauziratu kuti akathawe. Akuyesetsa kupeza zifukwa zofuna kulepheretsa masankho. Poti akudziwako kwao tiona ngati angawagwire onsewo.Stediamu yopanda zimbudzi ija amati azikanyerana m’mapewa?

  39. The task committee on convid should immediately meet. This is a threat to the nation. All the effort that Peter Muntharika that the Nation was trying to protect Malawians is in jeopardy though the courts, opposition parties and HRDS escalated this spread

  40. This dpp government is not serious and appears to have no clue as regards to strategies and implementation mechanisms to effectively respond to this COVID 19 pandemic. All they are doing is to blame the opposition and judge Kenyatta forgetting that this is the government’s responsibility to protect lives of Malawians.
    I wish the date for new presidential election is swiftly confirmed and usher new government to take care of the affairs of the government. In God’s name, this dpp government must go now otherwise people will perish because of leadership carelessness.

  41. This government is pathetic, incompetent and useless…
    Can we have elections tomorrow please? We are now tired

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