Mozambique: Coronavirus response plan created

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Mozambique: Coronavirus response plan created

1:33 CAT | 06 Mar 2020

File photo: Noticias

The government of Mozambique is executing a multi-sectoral plan to prepare and respond to an eventual outbreak of cases of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country.

Minister of Health, Armindo Tiago, also announced yesterday in Maputo the creation of a technical committee that will analyse the trend of the epidemic at a global level and update the list of countries subject to quarantine daily.

The announcement was made on the day that the first confirmed case of coronavirus was recorded in neighbouring South Africa, bringing the number of African countries that have registered cases of the disease to five. The others are Egypt, Algeria, Senegal and Nigeria.

The experience of other countries, Minister Tiago said, suggested that the main measure to be taken in Mozambique was reinforcing surveillance at the main points of entry into the country, especially at the land border crossings of Ponta do Ouro, Goba and Namaacha. Control measures are already in place at airports.

The minister gave assurances that there are teams ready to respond to the emergence of eventual Covid-19 cases, and said that the country had sufficient personal protective to attend to the first occurrences.

“We are currently making an additional budget available to increase stock of both personal protective material and medicines,” he noted.

Regarding the diagnostic capacity, Tiago said that about 2,000 test kits were available for this purpose, with the National Health Institute (INS) being the entity responsible for carrying out the tests.

Reinforce screening

Other measures announced by the minister of health include reinforcement in the screening of passengers entering the country from areas of active and high local transmission.

The telephone numbers of chief medical officers and clinical directors will be posted at airports to ensure that any individual who is in home quarantine can contact them if symptoms of the disease emerge.

Minister Tiago also gave assurances that biosafety measures were being reinforced, especially in emergency services in both public and private health units.

“We currently have the capacity for isolation and treatment in health units at the provincial level and, due to the movement that takes place in some provinces, we hope to increase the capacity in terms of beds,” Minister Tiago said.

In view of the announcement of the first confirmed case of coronavirus in neighbouring South Africa, the Mozambican health minister called for the adoption of preventive measures, such as: