According to the Minister of Health, Khumbize Chiponda, Treasury has availed K90 million for risk allowances for Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) and Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) healthcare workers.

The development follows as coronavirus cases are rising in Malawi, registering 2992 confirmed cases, 1153 recoveries and 62 deaths, as of 11:35am today. Corporates, organizations and others are putting together resources to combat the spread of the virus in the country, as well as ensuring the safety of health workers. Standard Bank Malawi recently donated K90 million-worth of personal protective equipment (PPE), which will be distributed to all major referral hospitals in the country. Also, a statement by Illovo Sugar Malawi recently announced that the company has implemented a K45 million project that will see mass production of cloth face masks amidst the rising cases of coronavirus in Malawi.

The minister of health attributed the K90 million providing risk allowances for the health workers, as there was a concern from the public that government was not paying them. The allowances are targeted to sort the health workers for the next 2 weeks.