Approaching the festive season and with many people who will be traveling home, Zweli Mkhize, Health Minister has warned South Africans about the dangers of contracting malaria. Recent data by the World Health Organisation, in 2018, 405 000 people died from malaria globally while 228 million cases were confirmed.
Mkhize said that the new normal requires that we apply our minds and adjust to COVID-19 which is wreaking havoc in communities and the economy in ways that malaria never has. He urged the nation to be mindful and take precautionary measures with both pandemics in order to find balance and mitigation measures accordingly.
He added that “malaria symptoms may very well mimic COVID-19 symptoms. It is therefore imperative that when one experiences flue like symptoms that one seeks medical attention as soon as possible,” he concluded.