Surge in Covid-19 Malawi infections: WHO warn Africa could become next virus epicentre

Minister of Health Jappie Mhango has said Malawi  which has so far confirmed 33 cases of COVID-19 and three deaths  is recording a jump in the spread of the virus pandemic.

Mhango said on Thursday that although those figures are still relatively small in the global picture, the sharp increase in cases is a cause for concern.

According to Mhango, the new cases are from the Kayeleka suburbs of the Capital, Lilongwe, where five other cases were also confirmed in the past 2 days.

“We had followed contacts and collected 24 samples and out of these 10 were confirmed to be positive,” said the minister in a daily update on the pandemic.

Mhango, however, he said all the active cases are in mild conditions and that health workers are still on the ground to ensure that all contacts are followed up and that all active cases are managed.

The minister urged the public to continue with practising the preventive measures, which include staying home, and to consult a doctor when experiencing severe symptoms.

“People should cover cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

“People should avoid close contact with people who are visibly sick with flu-like symptoms fever, cough, and sneeze,” the Minister said.

Mhango said if soap and water are not available, people should use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to fight against the spreading of the virus.

He assured Malawians that they should know that all deaths from Coronavirus and other similar diseases are handled by health care workers.

Meanwhile, Africa registered a 43 per cent jump in reported coronavirus cases in the last week, highlighting a warning from the World Health Organization  (WHO) that the continent of 1.3 billion could become the next epicentre of the global outbreak.

African governments reported a total of nearly 26,000 cases as of Thursday, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That figure is up from just over 16,000 a week ago and around 1,200 people have died with the disease on the continent.

The surge in infections on the continent is almost certainly under-reported and even higher in reality, say medical experts.

Africa also has a ‘very, very limited’ and ‘very, very strained’ testing capacity, John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in his weekly briefing.

WHO’s recent report painted a grim picture for Africa, one of the last continents to be hit by the pandemic.

The UN agency warned the virus could kill more than 300,000 people and push 30 million into desperate poverty.

Africa still has time to avert such a disaster, Nkengasong said, but testing people and tracing virus cases is critical.

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