Comunicação - Imprensa

Mozambique: Mandatory quarantine for visitors from countries with over 1,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases – report

National Director of Public Health, Rosa Marlene, announced yesterday that “citizens arriving in Mozambique] from all countries that have above 1,000 coronavirus cases and/or a number of daily infections above 100 within 48 hours” would be automatically quarantined. Marlene cited China, Italy, South Korea, Iran, Germany and France as being on the list.

The information was released in Maputo on Wednesday with cooperation partners, who announced their readiness to support Mozambique in fighting the new coronavirus outbreak.

A certain lack of clarity in the quarantine measures announced by the health authorities has however generated controversy, leading Minister of Health Armando Tiago to acknowledge that there were aspects that could be improved.

“We understand that quarantine is still a debatable issue, but there are few issues in the world that are fully agreed upon. We believe that, over time, and with the support of the World Health Organisation and other experienced entities who are advising us, we will improve the quarantine measures we are proposing,” Tiago acknowledged.

The health minister explained that quarantine measures should be seen as a necessity. “We need to ensure a cut in transmission. This is not related to specific countries or specific entities,” he explained.

Minister Tiago thanked cooperation partners for their readiness to help the country to deal with an eventual outbreak of the new coronavirus.

“We would also like to say that, as soon as possible, we will submit a plan for reallocating resources, as well as submitting our budget, already with an indication of which part may be covered by the State Budget, and where will we need the support of partners,” he concluded