Health experts in the country have warned the public on laxity in adhering to Covid-19 preventive measures as the country continues to register more cases.
The health experts were reacting to the speed at which the disease is spreading.
On Thursday, the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 announced a record number of new infections of the pandemic which were 274.
According to the taskforce’s co-chairperson Dr. John Phuka, many of the cases which the country is registering are locally transmitted.
In a statement, Dr. Phuka said the taskforce observed that there is laxity among Malawians.
“We have also observed an increase in the number of people infected within various institutions and this indicates the laxity of adherence to the preventive measures at personal and institutional levels.”
In an interview with NewsDay Malawi, Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN) executive director George Jobe said the laxity is a result of misconception and misunderstanding on decreased number of the pandemic’s cases and deaths which the country experienced.
Jobe has warned that if the trend continues, the pandemic will cause havoc in the country.
“If we continue to relax with the rising number of positive cases in the country and the local transmissions, the pandemic shall be catastrophic. As we have also heard of isolation centers that were closed down because there were no patients are filled up. So, we must continue to observe Covid-19 preventive measures that have been provided so that we fight against the pandemic, and everyone must monitor their movement as we continue to welcome back our relatives and friends who were abroad,” said Jobe.
Meanwhile, another health expert Maziko Matemba told NewsDay Malawi that government should put in place measures so that people should fully adhere to Covid-19 preventive measures.
“It is sad and regrettable that cases of Covid-19 are rising again at the moment when we thought we had contained the disease. The government needs to go back to drawing board to set regulations to help people to start adhering to the preventive measures,” said Matemba.
As of Friday, the country’s Covid-19 active cases has jumped surpassed 1,000 in just three weeks with 68 people admitted.
