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Photo courtesy: Karen Harris
Covid-19 tests and the curfew in South Africa are causing “huge queues of vehicles and delays” in crossing the Mozambican border at Ressano Garcia, with people delayed since Sunday, Lusa reports on Thursday (January 7).
“Since Sunday, there has been an avalanche of vehicles intending to cross into South Africa. Most travellers chose to take the [Covid-19] test at the border and the process there is very slow, which causes huge queues of vehicles,” National Migration Service of Mozambique (SENAMI) spokesman Celestino Matsinhe told Lusa today.
“The central issue is the Covid-19 test. It costs less when it is done at the border [on the South African side] – about 170 rand (€9.00) – and this is what creates problems; everyone wants to take the test at the [Lebombo] border post,” he said.
According to Matsinhe, South Africa has brought in a curfew which involves closing the border between 21:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m., which the Mozambican authorities also consider an obstacle at the country’s busiest border crossing.
“There was a moment when even entering Mozambique was difficult because motorists [in the queue] blocked the entire route in an attempt to resolve the situation,” Matsinhe explained.
“It is the first time that something like this has happened in in recent years.. It is a novelty to have people spending nights at the border,” he added.
To tackle the problem, the Mozambican Ministry of Health set up testing brigades in Ressano Garcia, but, according to the authorities, South Africa has rejected the rapid tests performed on the Mozambican side, without justification.
“At one point, they were not accepting tests done in Mozambique. They demanded that a new test be taken [on the South African side, and if they didn’t, they had to return,” Matsinhe said.
The Mozambican government says it is talking with South Africa with a view to resolving the situation, with the Mozambican Minister of Health saying that resolving the issue of South Africa refusing to respect the rapid Covid-19 tests taken in Mozambique was the responsibility of the Mozambican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Within a short time [the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ] will confer with the relevant South African authorities to see this matter of refusal resolved quickly,” health minister Armindo Tiago said.
According to SENAMI, between December 14 and January 5, 133,715 people crossed the border post of Ressano Garcia. Mozambique has a total of 56 borders crossings, of which only 33 are open. The rest have been closed under the preventive measures imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mozambique has a cumulative total of 19,667 positive Covid-19 cases, with 172 deaths and 87% of patients reported to have fully recovered, according to the latest (Wednesday January 6) update.
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