Malawi Covid-19 tests are accurate, trust us – PS for health

Ministry of Health Principal Secretary Dan Namarika has assured the public that they should have trust in the medical personnel that the country has and that the texts they are carrying on coronavirus (Covid-19) are accurate.

Namarika was reacting to social media reports that indicated that the positive Covid-19 cases registered so far are not trustworthy.

Malawi has recorded four Covid-19 cases by Saturday.

“It is not unusual to have someone test negative and then test positive later,” Namarika said.

He said this is normal in the medical field.

The Secretary for Health  said the test kits used  in Malawi are the standard recommended kits used across Africa.

On his part, Minister of Information Mark Botomani expressed concern with the increase in “fake news”  on social media which is causing panic .

Meanwhile, ,Malawi Health Equity Network (Mhen) has backed calls by some stakeholders for the government to recruit more healthcare workers  as Covid-19 spreads in the country.

Mhen Executive Director George Jobe says this is something they have been advocating for and engaging the government to consider.

“We have always asked the government to recruit all the healthcare workers that qualified and graduated but have not been given jobs. That should not just be for coronavirus but for the sake of universal health coverage,” he said.

The vacancy rate in Malawi’s health sector is at 52 percent.