“Covid-19 is a security issue”: Nyusi calls for vigilance, stresses global emergency situation – Watch

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“Covid-19 is a security issue”: Nyusi calls for vigilance, stresses global emergency situation – Watch

1:17 CAT | 06 Mar 2020

Photo: Miramar

President of the Republic Filipe Nyusi yesterday called for the vigilance on the part of Mozambicans in the wake of the first confirmed cases of the new coronavirus on the African continent, and said that authorities in Mozambique were ready for any potential outbreak there.

“Covid-19 is a security issue, and I appeal for a redoubling in prevention efforts and vigilance,” the head of state said in his first public statement about the outbreak.

Speaking during a graduation ceremony at the Academy of Police Sciences on the outskirts of the country’s capital, President Nyusi gave assurances that Mozambican authorities were ready to face an outbreak, and called on Mozambicans to adopt preventative measures.

“Be vigilant about yourself and your neighbour in order to identify signs of the disease,” he said, warning that this was an “global emergency situation”.

Mozambican authorities have prepared treatment and isolation centres in all provinces since the first cases of the new coronavirus were confirmed on the continent.

At a press conference yesterday in Maputo, the Minister of Health, Armindo Tiago, said that the country was ready to respond in the event of an outbreak, announcing that there a multi-sectoral plan was in place.

“The creation of a technical committee to analyse the situation on a daily basis and register the list of countries with citizens subject to quarantine is underway. At the moment, we can only say that the fundamental measure will be the strengthening of screening at the points of entry of the country,” the Minister of Health, reiterating that there was still no recorded case of the disease in Mozambique.

ALSO READ: Mozambique: Coronavirus response plan created

Authorities in South Africa, which borders Mozambique, yesterday confirmed its first case of Covid-19.

The Covid-19 disease, first detected in China last December, can cause respiratory infections such as pneumonia, and has resulted in about 3,300 deaths, with more than 95,000 people in 79 countries infected, including eight in Portugal.

Of those infected people, more than 50,000 have recovered.

In addition to 3,012 deaths in China, there have been fatalities in Iran, Italy, South Korea, Japan, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Thailand, the United States, the Philippines, San Marino, Iraq, Switzerland and Spain.

In Portugal, the Directorate-General for Health has confirmed eight cases – six in Oporto, one in Coimbra and one in Lisbon.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the Covid-19 outbreak a public health emergency.