Mozambique: Masks to be mandatory in transport, crowded places; taxi rules eased

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Mozambique: Masks to be mandatory in transport, crowded places; taxi rules eased

5:02 CAT | 09 Apr 2020

Stock photo: ANDES

The use of masks on transport and in crowded places in Mozambique is to become mandatory, in the latest government measure aimed at preventing the spread of the new coronavirus in the country.

The measures are included in a new decree that amends some articles of a first document approved by the government on 2 April, according to Filimão Suaze, spokesman for the cabinet, which met in Maputo on Wednesday in extraordinary session.

“The big issue facing the government is the protection of human life and all these measures aim to protect people,” Suaze said. “In the meantime, this combination must be made without creating situations of economic crisis.”

In addition to the use of masks on public and private transport, the decree suspends the ban on taxi services by motorcycles and bicycles, after a number of protests on the part of operators, mainly in country’s central and northern provinces.

Under the new measures, such services may operate, but only with drivers and passengers using masks.

On the other hand, the government has suspended the article that forced van and bus operators to carry only one third of the normal capacity, so allowing them to take up to the maximum capacity of the vehicle, but again with everyone wearing masks.

The number of officially registered cases of infection by the new coronavirus in Mozambique rose to 17 from 10, but there is still no record of any death from Covid-19 in the country, the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday.

The country is in a state of emergency that is to run to the end of April, with recreational spaces closed and a ban in force on all types of public and private events and gatherings.

During the same period schools are closed and no visas will be issued for foreign nationals seeking to enter the country.

The number of deaths caused by Covid-19 in Africa so far exceeds 500, with more than 10,500 cases of infection recorded in 52 countries, according to the latest pandemic data for the continent.

The new coronavirus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic has so far infected more than 1.4 million people worldwide, of whom more than 82,000 have died. Of the cases of infection, some 260,000 are considered cured.

After the outbreak broke out in China in December, it spread worldwide, leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic situation.

Source: Lusa