Bingu Stadium to turn into Covid-19 isolation centre
As the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 continues rising, the Ministry of Health has indicated that it is considering turning Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe into an isolation centre.
The minister responsible, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, indicated that, as the number of patients being admitted to hospitals keeps increasing, the ministry is running out of bed space.
“We are having space challenges in terms of bed capacity. So many patients are being admitted to most of our hospitals,” Chiponda said.
She made the remarks Thursday on the sidelines of the launch of distribution of Covid-19 prevention and general disaster response materials by Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) in Lilongwe.
She expressed gratitude to the society for donating two tents at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) to ease the space challenge.
“We are looking at other places and we are also thinking of Bingu National Stadium. We will be there this afternoon [Thursday] just to inspect and see how best we can use it.
“So, there are different options which we are looking at so that we give the right care to Covid-19 patients,” Chiponda said.
The minister further explained that the ministry was also working on finding more isolation places in Blantyre.
In her speech, the minister said the pandemic continued to cause sorrow and anxiety and that it was disheartening to note that the pandemic had come back more aggressive than before.
Chiponda, therefore, expressed gratitude to MRCS for the distribution of the Covid-19 management materials worth K1.6 billion that would be distributed to four districts of; Chikwawa, Mwanza, Karonga and Mangochi.
She, therefore, called for resources from well-wishers.
MRCS President Innocent Majiya said the items had been procured under the project called Prevent, Control and Contain the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malawian partnership with the Danish Red Cross with funding from European Union Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection.
“The issue of Covid-19 is not an issue that we could just leave to the government, but we would like to join the government in the fight against this enemy,” he said.
Majiya added that the society was ready to respond if there would be needs in other districts.
Mathews Kasanda is a journalist who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from University of Malawi (The Polytechnic).
In 2015, Media Institute of Southern Africa awarded him the Best Print Media Education Journalist of the Year accolade.
He joined Times Group Newsroom in September 2019.
