Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera has declared a state of disaster in an address to the nation delivered hours after two cabinet ministers died from COVID-19 amid a spike in coronavirus infections. Transport Minister Sidik Mia and Local Government Minister Lingson Berekanyama both succumbed to the disease in the early hours of Tuesday, the government spokesman said. They were senior members of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), the main partner in an alliance that unseated former President Peter Mutharika in June last year. The deaths followed a cabinet meeting and other gatherings attended by politicians over the Christmas period, but officials did not say where the victims were infected. All 31 of Malawi’s cabinet attended the meeting in the president’s oval office on December 21, and the following day Labour Minister Ken Kandodo reporting having contracted the coronavirus. He has since recovered. Another minister, Rashid Gaffar, is self-isolating at home.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
More Stories
Angélique Kidjo & Ibrahim Maalouf on ‘Queen of Sheba’
Discovery of Embalming Workshop Reveals How Ancient Egyptians Mummified the Dead
On a Walking Safari in Zambia
theGrio Style Guide: A Glimpse Into the Robust African Fashion Industry
Top 5 African Cities Food Lovers Must Visit in 2023
SA’s First Black African Freediving Instructor On her Favourite Ocean Spots along Cape Town
Iemanjá Festival: Keeping the Afro-Brazilian Tradition Alive
African Travel and Tourism has Potential for Immense Growth
Dakar Hosts the First Africa Vegan Restaurant Week
Under the Hanging Tree Examines how Namibia’s Genocide Lives on Today
Under the Hanging Tree Examines how Namibia’s Genocide Lives on Today
Re-entry of Higher Capacity Aircraft on African Routes Shows Recovery of Hard Hit Travel Sector