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UNICEF Malawi COVID-19 Situation Report: 20 October 2021

Países
Malaui
Fuentes
UNICEF
Fecha de publicación

Situation in numbers as of 20th October 2021

  • 61,732 confirmed cases
  • 56,966 recoveries
  • 09 cases hospitalized
  • 2,295 deaths
  • 419,908 tested samples
  • 2,239 active cases
    Source: 2021/10/19, Daily info update, Republic of Malawi, Ministry of Health

Reporting Period: 19 September - 20th October 2021

Highlights

  • On 19th October 2021, Malawi started conducting in-country COVID-19 genomic sequencing, a great milestone to surveillance of variants in country.

  • Malawi is experiencing a reduction in the number of cases and deaths with the positivity rate at 1.3 per cent, the lowest since the beginning of the third wave.

  • All the AstraZeca Vaccine doses that were due to expire on 30 September 2021 were fully utilized before the expiry date.

  • As of 18 October 2021, 518,717 people had been fully vaccinated.

  • During the reporting period, Malawi received 326,400 doses of Astra-Zeneca vaccines through the COVAX facility. They were donated by Germany (225,600) and France (100,800). Malawi also received 372,100 0.3ml Syringes, and 4,350 safety boxes through the COVAX.

  • UNICEF procured and facilitated the distribution of 17 cylinders of medical oxygen, 1.84kgs valued at US$3,098.25 to eight emergency treatment units Assorted PPEs valued at US$60,448.89 have also been distributed to various health facilities in support of COVID-19 activities within this reporting period.

Situation Overview

Malawi is continuing to experience a steady decline in the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and admissions to Emergency Treatment Units (ETUs). Sporadic cases from isolated districts continue to be reported on daily basis. As of 18 October 2021, 419,908 COVID-19 tests had been conducted since the beginning of the pandemic. Of these, 61,732 were confirmed positive for COVID-19 with a positivity rate of 1.3 per cent, down from 5 per cent last month, indicating a three-percentage point reduction. A total of 56,966 cases (92.2 per cent) have so far recovered, while 2,239 cases are active, indicating a decrease of over 35 per cent from the previous month. The number of hospital admissions has also decreased from daily average of four cases last month to two cases, a reduction of about 85 per cent (see the seven-day moving average above). In view of this development the Government of Malawi has eased the travel restrictions into the country and announced level one emergency threshold with most of the economy now open while the population has been advised to observe the preventive public health measures.

A cumulative total of 2,295 deaths have been registered with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 3.71 per cent which is above the Global CFR. The high CFR has been attributed to late reporting of suspected cases to ETUs.

As of 19 October 2021, 521,378 people have been fully vaccinated (252,606 with Johnson and Johnson; 266,111 with AstraZeneca). A reduction in vaccine demand has been observed across the country with daily uptake averaging 500 compared to over 2,500 in the previous month. The low demand could be attributed to the reduced fear by the public because of the decreasing number of reported COVID-19 cases and deaths.
UNICEF is supporting MOH to extending vaccination services close to the people using strategies such as door to door and mobile outreaches to the elderly, people with disabilities and those in hard to reach areas such as islands and Mountainous areas.