Covid-19 Updates
College of Medicine is closely monitoring the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As the situation continues to change rapidly, our top priority remains the health, safety, and well-being of our community, on and off-campus. We are planning for several contingency scenarios and taking decisive, informed action to limit the spread of COVID-19 while ensuring the continuity of our teaching and research mission. The University remains open and operational with appropriate measures to protect the health of the community. We will continue to update the community regularly to keep you informed of additional measures.
HEALTH WELLBEING
Your physical and mental health are of utmost importance.
- Practice and promote good, basic hygiene, and know when and how to wash your hands and use sanitizer.
- Practice universal social distancing to protect everyone.
- If you may student or staff member have been exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms of Covid-19, do NOT go to a medical clinic or emergency room. Instead, please contact 01 871 911 and ask to speak to the Surveillance Officer. A team will visit you in your home/ hostel for care.
- If you had an exposure but no symptoms, review and following Ministry of Health guidelines to determine whether you should self-isolate.
- To manage fear and anxiety, please contact 01 871 911 and ask to speak to Dr. Eric Umar in the School of Public Health. He will gladly arrange an appointment for you to speak with a mental health professional.
TRAVEL
Travel is a risk factor for acquiring a corona virus. People travelling to and from countries where the pandemic is worse face extended periods of self-isolation or mandatory quarantine. These requirements will make it hard for you to resume your academic and professional activities. So starting immediately and until further notice:
- All University-related international travel is prohibited.
- All personal international travel is strongly discouraged.
- Foreign collaborators are strongly encouraged not to visit Malawi and those who do, will face the mandatory self-isolation or quarantine as per the Malawi government guidelines.
- Any College of Medicine employee who returns or arrives to campus from a location with high number of corona virus infections should report to administration and self-isolate as per government guidelines.
EVENTS AND MEETINGS
The aim of the College of Medicine is to reduce the number of people visiting the campus in order to slow the potential transmission of the virus and protect vulnerable populations from exposure. The College of Medicine main campus is particularly in a vulnerable situation as it handles dead bodies, some of which could have succumbed to COVID-19. Staff, students and members of the general population are asked to help in this effort by ensuring that the following guidance is adhered to:
- Dead bodies will only be accepted at the mortuary if they are accompanied by a maximum of 10 mourners.
- The College of Medicine will not release a dead body to the general public when more than 10 mourners turn up at the mortuary.
- All gathering of the mourners at the College of Medicine gate and the surrounding areas is immediately suspended and prohibited. The guards will inform the mortuary attendants if people gather there and this will lead to the mortuary withholding the dead body. Where necessary, the police will be called to clear up mourners.
- We strongly discourage any non-essential meetings or events of 100 people or more as per government guidelines.
- Meetings or events of any size should be reconsidered, and remote collaboration tools should be used instead.
- Meeting and event organizers are responsible for knowing and understanding the University’s coronavirus restrictions and informing their participants.
CREDIBLE DATA
In any emergency/ epidemic, a credible source of information is critical. Below are links to credible sources of information that you can visit for daily updates at a global and local level.
- Daily updates:
- Frequently Asked Questions on Covid-19
- Covid-19: Immunity and Seasonality