Ministry of Health acting deputy director for Health Education Services Mavuto Thomas has warned the public against relaxing prevention measures as the number of new Covid-19 cases are dropping.
Speaking at the close of a two-day media training on Covid-19 in Salima on Sunday, Thomas said countries such as the United Kingdom are experiencing a second wave of the pandemic.
He asked the media to keep reminding the public on the need to follow all Covid-19 preventive measures.
Said Thomas: “This is not time to relax but continue [observing preventive measures] to surpress the virus even further until Covid-19 is no longer an issue in Malawi. We have seen that in continents such as Europe there is a second wave, if we don’t contain the virus now, we might experience the same, and that is not what we want. “
On her part, Media Institute of Southern Africa-Malawi chapter chairperson Teresa Ndanga called on the media to stick to professional standards, saying journalists have a responsibility to save lives in times of disaster.
She said: “We might not administer drugs to Covid-19 patients, but our stories can save lives.”
Department of Disaster Management Affairs chief relief and rehabilitation officer Fyawupi Mwafongo observed that limited funding and misinformation are some of the challenges the department has been facing in the fight against the pandemic.
He said mainstreaming of Covid-19 awareness messages in media programming is key to preventing its spread.
