Mozambique: UN concerned about links between drug traffickers, terrorism
File photo: Noticias
The Mozambican health minister warned this Wednesday of the risk of oxygen running out and there being no capacity to hospitalise more patients in some provinces, if the third wave of Covid-19 continues to grow at the current rate.
“If the current worsening trend continues, we could see a dramatic situation in the coming weeks, with an unbearable number of cases, hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19. Our inpatient capacity and oxygen supply for the treatment of patients could be exhausted in some provinces,” Armindo Tiago told journalists in Maputo.
In just the first six days of this month (July), the country registered 5,942 Covid-19 cases and 45 deaths, “numbers that surpass those registered during the whole month of June”, the minister noted.
Referring to the situation in the countries of the region and to the data recorded in Mozambique in recent weeks, the minister considered that the ‘third wave’ could be “more serious than the first two”.
“In the absence of oxygen, deaths occur not only in the most serious patients, but also in some patients with initially moderate symptoms,” he added.
For the minister, the number of cases and deaths registered in the first days of July confirm the trend of a “critical increase” in the transmission of the new coronavirus in Mozambique, with the situation even more serious than that seen in January, when the number of cases, deaths and hospitalizations soared in the country.
To avoid the worst, the health minister called for improvements and the joining of forces in implementing measures to prevent the disease.
“Preventing Covid-19 is the duty of each and every one of us. Success or failure in containing the third wave will be a consequence of our collective action,” he concluded.
After a reduction between March and May, Mozambique has, since June, registered an increase in the number of cases, hospitalisations and deaths due to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
The new Delta variant, originating in India, has been detected in Mozambique, authorities announced in late June, warning of its elevated transmission levels.
Mozambique had, by Wednesday, amassed a total of 934 Covid-19 deaths among 83,485 cases, 86% of which are accounted fully recovered, and 279 hospitalised.
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused at least 3,996,519 deaths worldwide, resulting from more than 184.4 million cases of infection by the new coronavirus, according to the most recent assessment by the Agence France-Presse.
The respiratory disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, detected in late 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China, and currently with variants identified in countries such as far afield as the United Kingdom, India and South Africa.
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