Covid-19: Truck drivers are likely source of contamination in central Mozambique – authorities

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Covid-19: Truck drivers are likely source of contamination in central Mozambique – authorities

2:51 CAT | 27 May 2020

File photo: Jornal Txopela

Two truck drivers from Zambia and Malawi were escorted to the border by police last week after their Covid-19 tests came back positive.

Mozambican authorities yesterday pointed to long-haul truck drivers traveling from neighbouring countries on the main road corridors in the country as the most likely source of Covid-19 in central Mozambique.

“It is already clear that one of the most likely sources [of infection] is the countries around us, and long-haul truck drivers are the most vulnerable group,” Secretary of State for Sofala province Stella Zeca said. “Along the way, there are the purchases and exchanges they make”, so “it is necessary to pay more attention to this target group”.

The government representative recommended that hitchhiking be avoided, and that extra care be taken in places such as “parking areas and gas stations”.

Two truck drivers from Zambia and Malawi were escorted to the border by police last week after their Covid-19 tests came back positive.

After Cabo Delgado and Maputo (city and province), Sofala has the most cases (12) of coronavirus infection in Mozambique.

The Beira corridor and the EN6 connect the Indian Ocean port of Beira to the border with Zimbabwe at Machipanda, serving that and other southern African countries.

Hinterland countries without access to the sea receive and transport goods via Mozambique, making the roads in the corridor among the most used in the country.

As of Tuesday (May 26), Mozambique had 213 Covid-19 cases, with one dead and 71 people recovered.

The government is expected to announce this week the next steps in the state of emergency regime declared on April 1 and extended until May 30. The country’s constitution allows for two more extensions.

Source: Lusa