The Malawian health authorities announced on Thursday that the first three cases of the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus had been confirmed and that the government had decided to impose stricter measures on all the country’s gates.
Health Minister Hubize Tsiponta stressed that the three cases were identified following the sequencing of the genome of 12 samples collected “from November 9 to December 2”, and “this confirms that we now have Omicron in the country”, speaking at during a press conference she gave at her offices in the capital Lilongwe.
The Ministry of Health will intensify checks on travelers at all entry gates, he continued. Travelers must already provide proof that they have undergone a PCR test for the new coronavirus with a negative result no later than 72 hours before their arrival. They will now be required to present a valid, electronically verifiable COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
Otherwise, they will be asked to be vaccinated – free of charge – at the gates to enter or return to the country, if they are citizens. Those who do not have a certificate and refuse to be vaccinated will be quarantined for 10 days at their own expense.
Ms. Tsiponta also said that Christmas celebrations will be canceled in the public sector, to protect workers.
Officially, the outbreak of the new coronavirus pandemic in Malawi has reached 2,307 deaths due to complications of COVID-19 out of a total of 62,053 SARS-CoV-2 cases since the virus began spreading across the country in April 2020. active cases are 688.
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