Africa-Press – Angola. Angola continues to have community circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) virus, with a total record of 165,372 cases, since March 2020, the period in which the first infected person was registered, to date.
Of the total number of infected people, 78% of whom are from the country’s capital (Luanda), 103,416 people recovered and 1,934 died.
According to the Secretary of State for Public Health, Pinto de Sousa, who was speaking to the press this Saturday in Luanda, during an update of epidemiological data, the country has registered 22 active cases, of which five are symptomatic and 17 are asymptomatic.
Of the symptomatic patients, two are in critical condition.
He also added that, in 2023, there were ten deaths associated with comorbidities, in the provinces of Benguela, Huíla and Luanda.
As for gender, the source said that men continue to be the most affected by Covid-19, with 58% of the total number of cases, in addition to affecting all age groups, with emphasis on the more economically active population (ages between 30 to 39 years), which accounts for 26.3% of patients.
He recalled that the country experienced four major waves between 2020 and June 2021, but, since the beginning of this year, there has been a stable incidence and transmissibility rate, a fact that indicates the control of the pandemic in Angola.
Despite this, the Secretary of State for Public Health warns of the need to maintain control of the disease, through the mass adherence of the population to vaccination, a more effective and safer global strategy for preventing and combating the pandemic.
“Vaccination continues to be a powerful weapon to combat the emergence of new variants that cause alarming epidemiological waves”, he recalled.
Number of vaccines administered
According to Pinto de Sousa, until April 15, 2023, 25 million 186 thousand 376 doses of vaccines were administered, with 15 million 653 thousand 681 people having received the first dose, representing an immunization coverage of 83%, in every country.
Even of the total number of vaccines administered, eight million 738 thousand 631 users received complete doses, corresponding to a coverage of 46%.
On the other hand, the Secretary of State for Public Health stressed that 6.8 million people are without complete vaccination, while 3.3 million users are without any dose of vaccine, a fact that puts the country at high risk of the outbreak. of recurrent outbreaks and appearance of new variants.
He highlighted that only the provinces of Namibe, Uíge and Cuanza Norte have complete doses of the global coverage of the 12-year-old population, representing more than 60%.
Pinto de Sousa said that the province of Luanda reached 55% of the complete base system, that is, two complete doses or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
He also underlined that the provinces of Cunene, Zaire, Moxico, Benguela and Cuando Cubango have lower vaccination coverage.
For the continued control of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, signed a decree on Friday (April 14) to update the rules for the administrative management of the disease in Angola, taking into account the relative increase in the number of positive cases in recent times, whose measures came into force at midnight on Saturday (April 15).
The present update appears in order to avoid the spread of the disease and the return to previous crisis scenarios.
With regard to health control at borders, the diploma determines that departures from national territory are dependent on the presentation of a vaccination certificate attesting to complete immunization, without prejudice to additional formalities required by the country of destination.
It also determines that entries into the national territory are dependent on the presentation of a vaccination certificate attesting to complete immunization or, alternatively, the presentation of a test for the SARS-COV 2 virus, of the RT-PCR type, with a negative result, carried out within 48 hours previous to the trip.
Minors up to 12 years old are exempt from the measures, being exempt from presenting a vaccination certificate or test when entering and leaving the country.
The decree also establishes, as a health containment measure, the mandatory use of a face mask in health units and in pharmacies or similar services, its use being optional in other places of public access.
The document also states that as long as the pandemic situation and the risk of mass contagion persist, competence is delegated to the ministerial departments to establish rules and administrative measures for surveillance and health control that prove to be useful and proportionate to the mitigation of the risk, under the terms of the International Health Regulations and the National Health Regulations.
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