Upon the Asian Business Community (ABC) Taskforce reviewing the current Covid-19 situation in Malawi, the taskforce has taken the decision to lift the Partial Voluntary Lockdown with immediate effect.

A statement signed by the Chairman of the ABC taskforce, has attributed the resolve to noting that the overall impact of such a lockdown will not contribute significantly to reducing coronavirus cases in Malawi. “This is because Malawi is now experiencing local transmission along with a wave of cases from Tanzania, and these are responsible for the majority of new Coronavirus cases in Malawi.” says part of the statement.

The taskforce has still urged the community to follow guidelines such as avoiding any unnecessary social gathering and enforcing social distancing of at least 1 metre. “All those with existing underlying health conditions and over the age of 53 should stay within the confines of their homes as much as possible” says part of the guidelines on the statement.

Recently, the ABC notified restaurant and take away operators, to extend their working hours to 10pm. The directive, communicated by the community’s COVID-19 taskforce, also outlined measures to ensure that the eateries keep customers safe during the hours. Since 8th May 2020 the closing time for Restaurants and Take-Aways was 10PM, while applying strict COVID-19 preventative measures.