Reuters
3 minute read
Two senior Malawian cabinet ministers and two other senior political figures died on Tuesday from COVID-19, the government said.
The deaths followed a cabinet meeting and other gatherings attended by politicians over the Christmas period, but officials did not say where the victims were infected.
Local Government Minister Lingson Berekanyama and Transport Minister Sidik Mia both succumbed to the disease in the early hours of Tuesday, the government spokesman said.
They were senior members of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), the main partner in an alliance that unseated ex-leader Peter Mutharika in a second round election in June last year, delivering victory to President Lazarus Chakwera. Mia had been tipped as a possible successor to Chakwera.
3 Min Read
BLANTYRE (Reuters) - Two senior Malawian cabinet ministers and two other senior political figures died on Tuesday from COVID-19, the government said.
The deaths followed a cabinet meeting and other gatherings attended by politicians over the Christmas period, but officials did not say where the victims were infected.
Local Government Minister Lingson Berekanyama and Transport Minister Sidik Mia both succumbed to the disease in the early hours of Tuesday, the government spokesman said.
They were senior members of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), the main partner in an alliance that unseated ex-leader Peter Mutharika in a second round election in June last year, delivering victory to President Lazarus Chakwera. Mia had been tipped as a possible successor to Chakwera.
SABC News
MALAWIAN President Lazarus Chakwera decreed three days of national mourning after two members of his cabinet succumbed to Covid-19 Tuesday.
Local Government Minister Lingson Belekenyama and the Minister for Transport Muhammad Sidik Mia died in the capital Lilongwe.
The two are the highest-ranking public officials so far to succumb to the virus in Malawi.
Chakwera said the government was considering declaring a state of emergency.
On Monday Malawi recorded 452 new Covid-19 cases and 10 new deaths, the highest daily average since the first case was confirmed in April, the co-chair of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, John Phuka, said in a statement.