Daniel Itai – The Zimbabwe Daily
Maputo, Mozambique – Mozambicans will have to brace themselves for another month of a nationwide lockdown.
The extension will commence today, “we decided to maintain the level three and adjust some measures that have an impact on the country, in a phased manner, to allow certain sectors to resume activities.
The process of relaxing restrictive measures will be gradual, and could be reversed depending on the evolution of the pandemic. Everything we have done has resulted in delaying the peak of the disease,” said President Filipe Nyusi.
The virus has now reached all the 11 provinces of the country, claiming five lives and infecting more than 800 with Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Maputo being the hardest-hit.
Prior to COVID-19, multiple disease outbreaks including cholera and malaria were already stretching Mozambique’s healthcare system.
Critical services such as sexual and reproductive health care, immunization activities and continuity of care for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and cholera are expected to be disrupted as resources shift to the COVID-19 response, potentially increasing maternal and infant deaths.
Access to clean water and appropriate sanitation is a major challenge in the country, where 80 percent of urban dwellers live in informal settlements.
