Mozambique: Covid-19 cases rising; what are the implications from South Africa? – By Joseph Hanlon

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Mozambique: Covid-19 cases rising; what are the implications from South Africa? – By Joseph Hanlon

8:06 CAT | 27 Jul 2020

File photo: Lusa

Covid-19 cases are rising, with 53 new cases announced on Sunday (July 26), pushing the 7-day average to 35 per day, compared to 20 per day for much of June. There have been 11 deaths. There have been 1669 confirmed cases, of which 1063 are still active; 4298 people are in quarantine. The four provinces with most active cases are Cidade de Maputo: 228, Cabo Delgado: 225, Nampula: 209, and Provincia de Maputo: 202.

But there are concerns both about the high numbers in neighbouring South Africa where case numbers are still rising and there were 312 deaths reported yesterday, and that cases and deaths may be underestimated in both countries.

Researchers from South Africa’s Medical Research Council say the South African figures for natural deaths are far higher than usual – suggesting thousands of Covid-19 deaths may be going unreported. (BBC 23 July)

Official figures show 6655 people have died from Covid-19. But a study of the past 10 weeks shows there have been 17,000 more deaths than usual for this time of year. That suggests more than 10,000 unexplained deaths.

Many are likely to be Covid-19-related but who died at home. There is also concern that South Africans are staying away from hospitals – because of a lack of space, or fear of catching the virus, which could mean more people dying of illnesses, such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, that are not being treated.

South Africa has double the population of Mozambique. South Africa currently reports 112 deaths per million population so if all extra deaths are counted as Covid-19 related, this would be nearly 300 deaths/mn, which is at levels similar to Brazil, Russia, Netherlands, and Ireland. (Germany is 110, Portugal is 167, UK is highest in Europe at 670)

By Joseph Hamlon