Fewer border crossings expected this Christmas, 300,000 from South Africa

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Fewer border crossings expected this Christmas, 300,000 from South Africa

6:04 CAT | 21 Dec 2020

File photo: O País

Mozambican authorities expect 358,000 travellers to cross the country’s borders during the festive season, against the more than 837,000 who passed through border posts in the same period of 2019, an official source told Lusa today.

“Migratory movement has been revised downwards nationally because of the limits on circulation imposed on account of Covid-19,” National Migration Service (Senami) spokesman Celestino Matsinhe said.

According to Celestino Matsinhe, the number of crossings expected this festive season is only 57% of last year’s figure.

Mozambique’s Ressano Garcia border crossing with South Africa is usually the busiest in the country, and operates 24 hours a day during the festive season, but this year, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it will operate only at normal times (06:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.), though with travellers only allowed to enter South Africa until 10:00 p.m., on account of the curfew in force there.

“We had to adjust to South Africa’s opening hours, but entries into Mozambique are open until later,” Matsinhe added.

Also read: Mozambique-South Africa: New schedule at Ressano border crossing – Miramar

Authorities expect 300,000 people to cross the Ressano Garcia border this year, against 411,948 last year, and Senami predicts that entries overall will peak between the 20th and 25th of December this festive season.

The country has a total of 56 border crossings, of which only 32 are currently open.

According to the latest update, Mozambique has experienced a total 17,568 cases of coronavirus infection, with 148 fatalities and 15,454 reported to have fully recovered.

Source: Lusa