When CDC, WHO, Parliament had to vouch for Malawi's COVID-19 results

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There have been reports on social media and from some of the COVID-19 patients, doubting the credibility of the positive results with some claiming the DPP government was bloating the figures. With the elections looming, the feeling is that the President Mutharika-led administration is deliberately trying to paint a gloomy picture to garner enough reasons to stop a presidential election re-run.

This prompted the Ministry of Health to bring in its allies.

 Chairperson of the Health Committee of Parliament Mathews Ngwale told the nation COVID-19 positive test results should be trusted as authentic. Ngwale has vowed to take anyone who would want to verify the results to the laboratories.

Ngwale says in its oversight role, his committee visited CHSU, one of the testing centres which on Thursday released 10 COVID-19 positive results all from one locality of Kaliyeka in Lilongwe.

He said the CHSU, supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has qualified personnel who are handling the samples.

"This is not a political issue. COVID-19 has attracted the world's attention. Everyone knows that all issues that have been important to the world have seized to be important in the face of the pandemic.

"It is not wise for anyone to say these results are not true. Those of us in towns should not play politics with the lives of people in the villages," said Ngwale at a press conference in Lilongwe on Friday.

Ngwale's sentiments were backed by the CDC and WHO representatives at the the meeting who said they have made significant investments in training, testing efforts and that all the quality control measures have been in place to ensure that the results are authentic.

According to Dr Charles Mwansambo from the Ministry of Health, nearly 80 percent of those who test positive for the coronavirus disease may not show any signs and symptoms of the virus.


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