Mozambique: At least three killed in Chimbanga attack, Mocímboa da Praia district
Photo: Noticias
The Mozambican government has assured its citizens that it takes responsibility for being the first to inform them of any suspected or confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the country.
“In countries where the occurrence of this disease has already been confirmed, the information is provided by the respective governments, and our country will be no exception. If the first confirmed case is registered, the government will go public and report the occurrence, as well as other measures to prevent its spread,” the spokesman for the extraordinary Council of Ministers session held yesterday in Maputo said on behalf of the governors and state secretaries of the province and the city of Maputo.
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According to Filimão Suaze, 246,779 citizens have been screened so far at various points of entry into the country, mostly passengers arriving from elsewhere in the world, and some from places where the virus has already been detected.
This number refers to screening carried out between the 20th of January and the 10th of March, including the eight suspected cases that have since tested negative.
Suaze, who is also deputy minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, said the government was attentive to information circulating on social media about the alleged coronavirus infection in two citizens, namely an Italian man and a child from Portugal.
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“We do not have a confirmed coronavirus case officially registered in the country, but neither do we underestimate the information circulating on social media. However, we call for greater responsibility regarding alarming citizens,” Suaze said, pointing out that refraining from passing on unconfirmed information would help Mozambicans carry on with their normal activities.
Suaze could not specify the exact number of people in quarantine, but said that some were in mandatory home quarantine while others were voluntarily self-quarantining, and that any information would be confirmed in due course by the Ministry of Health.
In Mozambique, the National Institute of Health (INS) is the authority with the competence and mandate to make diagnoses and confirm any possible case of coronavirus infection.
Coronavirus business aside, the Council of Ministers yesterday also approved the decree that establishing the rules and criteria for the organisation of the provincial services of State representation, including in the city of Maputo. Also approved yesterday, was the decree on the rules and criteria for the organisation of provincial directorates.
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