Journal of Basic and Applied Research International

A Cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the recent trends and future direction in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: What are the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on people’s daily life? What are the levels of practice on 3W’s (wash hands, wear mask, watch the social distance) to reduce the spread of COVID-19? What are the future directions on coping with COVID-19 pandemic? Structured questionnaire was administered using the Google Form. The link was shared through WhatsApp, Facebook and E-mails. A total of 408 respondents were captured and the data collected was analysed using SPSS 24. The results indicate that a majority (96.0%) of the respondents were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts significantly (X²=58.263; p<0.001) differed. The main impact of COVID-19 pandemic on daily life was disturbed work schedule (82.4%). The other impacts included: no entertainment (47.4%), reduced salary (27.4%), delay in graduation (17.6%), food insecurity (14.4%), 100% cut-off salary (12.9%), cancellation of examinations (5.9%), and jobless (5.9%). The levels of practice with 3W’s to reduce the spread of COVID-19 were high (76.7%). Demographic characteristics like age-class, gender, residence, educational level, and the main activity of the organisation/business significantly (P<0.05) influenced on the practice of 3W’s. The study further revealed that improving healthcare facilities and services will help to reduce the impacts of such pandemics. Advice on social distancing, washing hands regularly, wearing face masks in public, and vaccination should be strictly followed to cope with COVID-19.