Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has authorised the resumption, from Monday, of face-to-face classes throughout the country’s education system, with the exception of pre-school institutions.
Nyusi made the announcement on Friday in an address to the nation, relaxing several restrictive measures which the government had introduced in order to contain the spread of the Covid-19 respiratory disease.
In mid-July, the government effectively closed schools in most urban areas south of the Zambezi, with a ban on face-to-face teaching in the Greater Maputo Metropolitan Area, Beira, Chimoio and several other cities and towns. The only way children in the affected areas could continue their education was through distance learning.
Now these schools can all re-open, but Nyusi warned that the move might be changed depending on the epidemiological trend and the capacity to comply with preventive measures against the pandemic. Hence, schools or regions across the country may interrupt their activities to resume at a later stage.
“In order to resume their activities, the institutions involved will have to seek an authorisation from the bodies that oversee their activity”, Nyusi said.
One area where face-to-face classes remain completely banned is pre-school education. All crèches must remain closed, a decision that will come as a blow to crèche workers and parents alike.
As for the overnight curfew in force in most cities and towns, Nyusi announced a slight relation. The curfew will now begin at 22.00 rather than 21.00.
The trading hours for shopping centres have been extended, now operating between 09.00 and 18.00 hours from Monday to Saturday, whereas before they closed as 16.00 hours. On Sundays and holidays shops will close at 17.00 hours. Before, they closed at 15.00 hours.
The other commercial establishments and services will operate between 09.00 and 18.00 hours, rather than closing at 16.00 hours. They will remain closed on Sundays and holidays. Restaurants, may open between 06.00 and 20.00 hours every day of the week.
Bakeries and convenience stores will now be open between 06.00 and 19.00 hours, rather than 18.00 hours. Casinos are also allowed to re-open, as are large and medium sized gymnasiums. Large gyms are restricted to operating at no more than 25 per cent of their capacity, and medium sized gyms at ten per cent. Small gymnasiums remain closed.
All religious ceremonies remain suspended. All private social events are banned with the exception of weddings. A maximum of 20 people can attend a wedding, but there can be no parties or receptions afterwards.
Although many of the Covid-19 indicators have improved in parts of the country over the past three weeks, with fewer new cases, and fewer hospitalisations, they are still higher than they were before the start of the third wave of the pandemic. Nyusi warned that the situation is worsening north of the Zambezi, in Zambezia, Nampula, Niassa and Cabo Delgado provinces.
“This is not the end of the pandemic”, he said.
Nyusi stated that since March nearly 1.8 million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 of whom 660,000 have been fully immunised with two doses of vaccine. But he described as “criminals” those who are involved in fraudulent schemes, selling vaccination cards for vaccine hesitant people reluctant to be inoculated.
He stressed that vaccination reduces the number of serious cases of covid-19, and the number of deaths. In three weeks, there had been 179 deaths. 172 of these people were unvaccinated, four had taken just one dose of the vaccine, and the three who had taken both doses were all suffering from underlying health problems.
