North Malawi record first Covid-19 case in Karonga: Patient had returned from Tanzania

A first case of  coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic patient in the northern region has been recorded in border district of Karonga, Minister of Health Jappie Mhango has  confirmed.

Mhango said on Sunday from northern city of Mzuzu that a 27 year-old man who had travelled to Tanzania has tested positive of Covid-19.

The minister said the patient has been quarantined to receive medical care.

He said the Ministry of Health (MoH) will trace dozens of  people who had  been in contact with the patient.

The Karonga patient announcement  comes after  another man who recently returned from Tanzania succumbed to the novel pandemic.

Currently, the capital Lilongwe is the Covid-19 red zone with  22 cases, Blantyre has eight with one death while Chikwawa, Zomba and Nkhotakota have one case each.

A mathematical modelling estimates that 50 000 people may die of Covid-19 in Malawi if the pandemic persists for a year with Lilongwe being the hardest hit.

On December 31 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was alerted of several cases of pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. WHO declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 12 2020.

President Peter Mutharika declared Malawi a State of Disaster on March 20 in the wake of the virus pandemic and announced several precautionary measures, including closure of schools and banning of gatherings of more than 100 people.