In the past 24 hours, Malawi has registered 571 new COVID-19 cases, 258 new recoveries and 22 new deaths. All cases are locally transmitted: 172 from Blantyre, 136 from Lilongwe, 63 from Mchinji, 22 from Mzimba North, 20 from Nkhotakota, 16 each from Dedza and Mulanje, 14 each from Ntcheu and Zomba, 13 each from Mangochi and Rumphi, 10 from Salima, nine from Machinga, seven from Balaka, six from Nsanje, five each from Karonga, Kasungu, and Neno, four each from Ntchisi and Thyolo, three each from Nkhata Bay and Phalombe, two each from Chikwawa, Dowa, and Likoma, and one from Chitipa Districts.
22 new deaths were registered in the past 24 hours; three each from Balaka, Lilongwe, and Mzimba North, two each from Dowa, Nkhotakota, Rumphi, and Zomba, and one each from Blantyre, Salima, Kasungu, Mchinji, and Dedza Districts.
To the families that have lost their loved ones during his pandemic, may you find peace, hope and love during this difficult time. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.
Cumulatively, Malawi has recorded 48,637 cases including 1,480 deaths (Case Fatality Rate is at 3.04%). Of these cases, 2,562 are imported infections and 46,075 are locally transmitted.
Cumulatively, 36,419 cases have now recovered (recovery rate of 74.9%) and 232 were lost to follow-up. This brings the total number of active cases to 10,506.
In the past 24 hours, there were 61 new admissions in the treatment units while 51 cases were discharged. Currently, a total of 366 active cases are currently hospitalised: 101 in Blantyre, 80 in Lilongwe, 33 in Zomba, 16 in Kasungu, 14 in Dowa, eight each in Balaka, Chiradzulu, and Mangochi, seven each in Salima, Mzimba South, Nkhotakota, and Ntcheu, six each in Mulanje, Neno, Mchinji, Thyolo, and Rumphi, five in Karonga, four each in Phalombe, Machinga, and Ntchisi, three in Chikwawa, and one each in Dedza, Chitipa, Mwanza, and Nsanje Districts.
On testing, in the past 24 hours, 2,198 COVID-19 tests were conducted. Of these, 1,220 tests were through SARSCoV-2 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic test while the rest were through RT-PCR.
The positive cases out of the total number tested (past 24 hours) translates to a positivity rate of 26% while a weekly positivity rate (seven days moving average) is at 25.4%.
Cumulatively, 322,506 tests have been conducted in the country so far. On COVID-19 vaccination, cumulatively 385,242 and 43,165 people have received the first dose and second dose respectively.
The COVID-19 vaccination remain paused hence no doses were administered over the past 24 hours. A total
of 428,407 vaccine doses has been administered in the country so far.
I would like to inform the public that the COVID-19 vaccination exercise resumes tomorrow in most sites in the country. Am happy to report that all the districts have now received the COVID-19 vaccines and they are currently distributing the vaccines within their districts.
Let me take this opportunity to encourage those that have underlying conditions, those aged 60 years and above and health workers and other frontline staff to utilize this moment to get vaccinated.
Further, let me also encourage those that had received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and are due for the second dose, to visit the vaccination sites to get their second dose.
Remember the AstraZeneca vaccines requires one to receive two doses for one to be fully protected. As the vaccination program resumes let me assure the public that we have secured more doses of the vaccines and they should be in the country in the next few weeks hence no need to panic.
I would like to remind the public that the COVID-19 vaccination is being rolled out in our country to help reduce the risk of developing severe disease, hospitalization and deaths due to COVID-19.
The vaccines will be available in Government and CHAM facilities and we have trained more health workers in all the districts in the country to ensure that we have adequate staff in these vaccination sites.
