Sex workers in Mzuzu have expressed concern over the Mzuzu City Council’s order that all bottle stores and bars should close at 8pm, saying their business will be affected.

According to Mzuzu Mayor Councillor Brian Kondwani Nyasulu, the city banned 24-hour operation of drinking joints in the city as a prevention measure for the coronavirus.

The drinking joints will only be allowed to operate from 2:00PM to 8:00PM.

A sex worker who asked not to be named said their only source of income is commercial sex work.

“Government can’t afford to give us work or something to do, so coronavirus will affect us as well since our clients usually come to bars at around 9pm and with this ban we are struggling to find our everyday food,” she said.

She also added that due to the coronavirus, it is hard to find clients since people are shunning sex and the government is encouraging social distancing as a way of preventing the coronavirus.