While the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which causes COVID-19) has triggered a worldwide frenzied race to find a vaccine or cure, another battle is raging against technological, medicinal, religious, geopolitical and other infodemics. A two-legged qualitative study in Chintheche, a small rural town in Malawi, Africa, was conducted to explore how the residents there perceived and navigated COVID-19 amidst all the infodemic. The first leg of the study concluded that the interviewees were aware and knowledgeable about COVID-19, and the health impact it posed, but nearly half of them doubted its presence in Malawi. The second leg found that participants no longer doubted COVID-19’s presence in Malawi as some prominent people they knew in their locality had either died or been hospitalized with the disease. The study concludes that only evidence of pandemics getting closer to home may change people’s dismissive attitudes and moderate their behaviours.

中文翻译：

---

探索非洲农村地区的 COVID-19 信息流行病：马拉维钦泰切的案例研究

虽然导致 COVID-19 的严重急性呼吸系统综合症冠状病毒 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 引发了全球寻找疫苗或治疗方法的疯狂竞赛，但另一场针对技术、医学、宗教、地缘政治和其他信息流行病的战斗正在激烈进行。在非洲马拉维的一个小镇 Chintheche 进行了一项两条腿的定性研究，以探索那里的居民如何在所有信息流行病中感知和导航 COVID-19。研究的第一阶段得出的结论是，受访者对 COVID-19 及其对健康造成的影响了解并了解，但近一半的受访者怀疑它在马拉维的存在。第二站发现参与者不再怀疑 COVID-19 在马拉维的存在，因为他们在当地认识的一些知名人士要么死于该病，要么住院。