Covid-19: SENAMI announces drastic reduction in migratory movement

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Covid-19: SENAMI announces drastic reduction in migratory movement

1:38 CAT | 20 Mar 2020

File photo: O País

Mozambique’s National Migration Service (SENAMI) reports that the week 7th to the13th of March revealed a great reduction in cross-border traffic compared to the same period last year.

Speaking at the weekly SENAMI briefing this Thursday, spokesman Celestino Matsinhe said airports had recorded a 50% drop in travellers, while maritime, lake and river borders saw movement decrease by 46% and land borders by 0.4%.

From 7 to 13 March, only 5,008 people used national airports to enter and leave the country, against 10,159 in the same period last year. Only 186 people entered and left the country by sea, or across rivers and lakes, against 344 last year. Land borders registered 103,176 travellers against 103,652 in the same period of 2019.

The SENAMI spokesman also noted that cross-border movement fell by 17% against the previous week (29 February to 6 March, 2020). In the week 7 to 13 March, 108,446 people of all nationalities crossed Mozambique’s land borders, against 131,335 in the week from 29 February to 6 March.

Matsinhe reiterated that the Ponta do´Ouro (Maputo province), Giryondo and Pafuri (in Gaza province) border posts were closed, at the instigation of South African border control authorities.

By Marta Afonso

Source: Carta de Moçambique