U.S. commits $160 million in HIV, and TB support for Mozambique
New Covid-19 transmission chain with no relation to Total workers diagnosed in Maputo city – A Verdade
1:17 CAT | 05 May 2020
Photo: A Verdade
The director general of the National Institute of Health (INS) revealed that a Mozambican citizen living in Maputo and recently diagnosed with the new coronavirus has started a new transmission chain with no relation to Total infected workers in Mozambique. “This calls our attention to the fact that transmission chains may occur invisibly,” Dr Ilesh Jani commented. Meanwhile, we are learning that 210 suspected cases of Covid-19 arrived in the Mozambican capital on a repatriation flight from Portugal.
Speaking at a press conference last Sunday (03), Dr Ilesh Vinodrai Jani revealed that health authorities had not yet identified the source of infection, either local or foreign, of one of the three positive cases announced on Friday (May 1).
“We know that he is not related to Afungi because of the interviews that we have conducted and the screening work that is underway. He has never been to Afungi, and does not work in any company that has a relationship with Afungi. At the moment, an epidemiological investigation into how this individual became infected is underway,” Dr Jani declared.
Dr Jani added that the newly infected person had no history of travelling abroad. “This draws our attention to the fact that transmission chains may arise invisibly, and that is why Stage 3 preventative measures are implemented in our country. It is essential that people realise that a significant portion of cases are mild or asymptomatic and therefore we do not know who is infected with the virus – hence the need to comply with the social distancing rules and hygiene measures decreed by the government.”
But no new cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in Mozambique on Monday, leaving the country with 80 infected after testing another 132 samples collected in the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Sofala, Gaza, Maputo and in the City of Maputo.
210 suspected Covid-19 cases from Portugal
Meanwhile, the National Director of Public Health, Dr Rosa Marlene, revealed that “a TAP flight from Lisbon, carrying 210 passengers, of which 155 are Mozambicans, 41 Portuguese, two Turks, one Brazilian, one British and ten crew members” landed in Maputo on Sunday night (May 3).
“All 210 passengers were submitted to a screening and a data collection questionnaire, and samples were collected for Covid-19 testing,” the doctor said. “Twenty-six passengers in transit to the provinces will remain in Maputo city for at least 48 hours, housed in home quarantine and in some hotel units, where they will be monitored. All preventative measures will be strictly adhered to,” she further assured the reporters present.
Regarding the serological status of the passengers and on whether they were subjected to some screening test before leaving the Portuguese capital, medical authorities said that “Clarification is still being sought. The flight was at dawn. Most of the travellers are nationals who are in their homes under strict control to comply with quarantine”.
Responding to a question from @Verdade on the assessment of citizens on rotating shift work, Dr Marlene recommended an “electronic risk self-assessment tool”, accessible at https://riscocovid19.misau.gov.mz/, which she said could be used by human resources departments in institutions organising shift work. “This is not policing. It is good for us to reinforce counter-measures to Covid-19 transmission.”
By Adérito Caldeira
Source: A Verdade
Show comments
Also read
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.