Significant improvement in Covid-19 situation

Maputo, 31 Aug (AIM) – The situation of the Covid-19 pandemic improved significantly in Mozambique in August, with a reduction in new cases of almost 50 per cent, in comparison with July.

Speaking at a Maputo press conference on Monday, the Deputy National Director of Public Health, Benigna Matsinhe, said that in July there had been 45,624 new cases of the disease diagnosed. But in the first 30 days of August the number of new cases fell to 24,025, a decline of 47.3 per cent.

The number of Covid-19 patients needing hospitalization fell from 1,953 in July to 974 in August, a fall of 50.1 per cent. Covid-19 mortality declined by 26.4 per cent, from 556 deaths in July to 409 in August.

Although these figures showed the disease was on a clear downwards trend, Matsinhe warned that triumphalism must be avoided, “since it might lead us to abandon the general measures of preventing and fighting against the disease”.

Far from relaxing the preventive measures, they must be stepped up, she said, and all those who had received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, should make their way to the vaccination posts for the second dose.

Matsinhe announced that, in the previous 24 hours, 27,802 people had received the second dose. The number of people completely vaccinated has now reached 910,308.

Monday’s figures confirmed that the epicenter of the Mozambican epidemic has shifted to the north. 53.2 per cent of the new cases were from the four provinces north of the Zambezi – 63 in Niassa, 16 in Zambezia, 11 in Cabo Delgado and 11 in Nampula.

The seven provinces of southern and central Mozambique provided only 46.8 per cent of the cases. For the second consecutive day no cases at all were reported from Tete or Manica. There were 36 cases from Maputo city, 32 from Gaza, 13 from Inhambane, seven from Sofala and just one from Maputo province.

Matsinhe reported a further two deaths from Covid-19 – a 76 year old Mozambican woman, and a 62 year old Mozambican man, both of whom died in Maputo city. The total Covid-19 death toll in Mozambique now stands at 1,853.

(AIM)