Malawi authorities say students who were prevented from returning to school at the end of the Christmas holidays due to fears of an escalating cholera outbreak can now return.

Health Minister Khumbize Chiponda announced in Lilongwe that most schools are now prepared to manage the cholera situation.

Malawi is facing a devastating outbreak pf the water-borne disease which has so far killed more than 750 people.

The Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and Cholera had ordered that schools in the capital, Lilongwe, and the southern commercial city of Blantyre should not open in order to protect learners and students from contracting cholera.

The decision drew criticism from education rights activists because it only targeted schools in two cities while those in other areas, including some that had also recorded high number of cholera cases, were allowed to open.

Mr Chiponda has now said that over the past two weeks the task force has been monitoring the situation and is satisfied there is availability of water, handwashing facilities and clean toilets in all schools, hence the decision to order their re-opening.