Showbiz organisers cautious with coronavirus
As the coronavirus continues to affect many sectors worldwide, the entertainment sector has not been spared.
Globally, movie productions have been put on hold, festivals postponed and music shows cancelled. For the majority of many players in Malawi’s creative sector, it is business as usual as no coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the country.
In an interview, events organisers MacDonald Soko of Club 20 Four 7 said all scheduled music shows and events at his club will go ahead.
He said: “We understand the threat coronavirus is posing to the public. We will be putting measures in place and we are currently working on modalities.”
“We will, however, have water and soap which our patrons will have to use before entering the venue. We are aware that such small gestures minimise risks.”
Musician Faith Mussa’s manager, Sam Chiwaka, said the artist has cancelled several international shows and appearances as a precautionary measure.
“Faith was supposed to appear on SABC 2 gospel programme today but we cancelled.
“We were supposed to have artists Milan from Czec Republic and United Kingdom performing alongside Faith on April 4. That again will not happen. We are still monitoring the situation on the ground as to how best we can work round this.”
Chiwaka, however, said locally, Malawi has not reached a point where it can stop local public events.
“The only precautionary measure would be a lockdown of the country and that would affect the economy a lot,” he said.
Ministry of Health spokesperson Joshua Malango said the ministry is working on guidelines for public gatherings.
He did not have the details by the time we went to print.
Black Missionaries will perform at Club 20 Four 7 on Friday evening and Skeffa Chimoto and The Real Sounds will be at Salima Culture Club on Saturday.
