The Judiciary and Ministry of Transport have announced a raft of measures in the national fight against the devastating coronavirus (Covid-19).
The measures from the two departments are in response to a State of Disaster which President Peter Mutharika announced last week as the world grapples with the rampaging Covid-19.
Among the measures, the Ministry of Transport has directed buses and minibuses to reduce passenger capacity to 60%. The same measure also applies to water transport vessels.
In a statement, Minister of Transport Ralph Jooma has directed the sector to ensure that they implement measures that prevent infection such as hand washing for passengers and wearing of masks by crew.
On the other hand, Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda has announced in a statement that all courts in Malawi will be undertaking measures to limit the spread of the disease.
These include postponing non-critical cases until further notice and controlling the numbers of people that turn up to courts.
“All persons entering any court house in the country, shall be required to wash their hands with soap detergent thoroughly and continuously for at least twenty (20) seconds at the applicable entrance point and under the supervision of a Court Marshal or other designated official,” reads the statement from the Chief Justice dated 27 March 2020.
Nyirenda underlines that all Judicial Officers and Members of Staff of the judiciary shall continue to be on duty unless advised otherwise.
Malawi is one of the ten countries and territories in Africa that have not registered a case of coronavirus yet.
The disease which erupted in December in China has spread like flames of fire to all parts of the world infecting over 400,000 people, battering even the strongest of the economies and bursting first-class health systems in their seams.
To prevent further spread of the disease, the hardest-hit countries have resorted to total lockdown, effectively grinding to a halt any economic activity and restricting movement of people from beyond their homes.
