Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican Health Minister Armindo Tiago declared on Friday that the authorities are on maximum alert against a possible fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Although in recent weeks there has been a sharp reduction in the number of Covid-19 cases diagnosed in Mozambique, with corresponding declines in hospitalisations and deaths, Tiago insisted that strict measures of prevention remain necessary.
He was speaking in Maputo at a ceremony where his Ministry received 501,600 doses of vaccine against Covid-19, donated by the French government, under the COVAX initiative.
The main Covid-19 indicators had all improved, said the Minister, “but we are sure that the battle has not yet been won, and the conditions for the eruption of a new wave are still present. So we must be prepared for a possible fourth wave”.
Tiago urged citizens to take part in the national vaccination campaign currently under way. This phase of the campaign is aimed at anyone aged between 30 and 49 in urban areas not vaccinated in the earlier phases, and all people aged 50 and above in the countryside.
“The vaccine prevents serious illness, hospitalization and even death”, said Tiago. “But it does not prevent transmission. So wearing masks must remain our weapon in preventing the spread of Covid-19”.
By applying for access to vaccines through the COVAX mechanism, the government’s main goal, he continued, was to ensure equitable access to vaccination for Mozambicans. COVAX was one of several initiatives under way “to increase the number of vaccines for our people”, said Tiago “But the struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic does not depend solely on the efforts of the government. It depends on the actions of each and every one of us”.
For his part, French ambassador David Izzo said that his country was the first to donate vaccines to Mozambique through COVAX.
He said that to date France has donated 607 million doses of vaccine across the globe through COVAX. “We have become one of the main donors to COVAX, with our contribution to an effective multilateral response to this crisis”, added Izzo.
“Only united and with solidarity will we have an efficient response against this disease which is obviously a world pandemic”, he said. “Global vaccination coverage is a priority, and so we shall maintain our determination to mobilise the international community with our partners in support of the countries hard hit by the pandemic”.
Also on Friday, the Ministry of Health received 924,000 surgical masks donated by the German government in partnership with the World Health Organisation.
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