Malawi’s crusade against the coronavirus is going from putting its health system under strain to dragging it to breaking point.
Its doctors on Tuesday called for volunteers to beef up the army of frontline health care personnel as the country battles to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The Society of Medical Doctors said the pandemic has severely exposed Malawi’s health delivery system and there was an urgent need for clinicians, nurses and laboratory staff.
“Those willing to help should be fully registered with their regulatory bodies, they should be without a comer bity that could increase their risk of developing severe COVID-19 and, if they are employed, they should have a written permission letter for this initiative from their employers,” SMD president Victor Mithi said in the statement.
He said the volunteers should be willing to work in COVID-19 centres in central hospital isolation wards and at new field hospitals to be set up by the government.
The call for volunteers comes days after President Lazarus Chakwera announced on Sunday that the government plans to increase the number of hospitals to admit patients from the current 400 treatment centre to 1,500 within the coming month.
This would include setting up 300-bed field hospitals at Blantyre Youth Centre and Bingu National Stadium as well as a 200-bed emergency treatment unit in Mzuzu and a 100-bed field hospital at Zomba State House.
Malawi has experienced a surge in new infections during the past few weeks, with 557 cases and seven deaths reported in the past 24 hours alone, taking the cumulative number of cases since April 2020 to 13,027 and 321 deaths.
JN/APA