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
How to Experience Lagos and Parts of Nigeria
From Former Refugee to Travel Fundi
Living Wild in Zambia’s National Park
A Traveller’s Guide to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Rwanda is Home to Many other Thrilling Species – If you Know Where to Look
Akwasi Brenya-Mensa on Tatale: “My Work is About What African Cuisine Will Look Like in 30 to 50 Years’ Time”
Behold ‘The Woman King’: Viola Davis as a Real-Life Warrior General
10 Questions With… Nfemi Marcus-Bello
Meet the Ghanaian Author Documenting the History of African Designers
Beyoncé Has Helped Usher in a Renaissance for African Artists
Angola’s Privatisation Campaign is an Experiment
Trouble in Abuja’s Airspace