Mozambique: Nyusi eases some Covid-19 restrictive measures – Watch

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Mozambique: Nyusi eases some Covid-19 restrictive measures – Watch
Mozambique: Nyusi eases some Covid-19 restrictive measures – Watch

Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Sunday night announced an easing of many of the restrictive measures, introduced by the government to restrict the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Addressing the nation, Nyusi said the relaxation, which takes effect as from zero hours on Monday, is intended to allow a gradual resumption of production in all sectors of the economy. The relaxation was possible because of the advances in the national vaccination campaign, and the great improvement in all the main Covid-19 indicators – such as the daily number of new cases, and of deaths, and the number of people hospitalised with the disease.

An analysis of the situation over the past month, said Nyusi, “leads us to conclude that, in general, with the exception of the irresponsibility witnessed on some benches, Mozambicans have accepted the measures we have been taking, and the country has witnessed a reduction in all the epidemiological indicators over the past ten weeks. So the government has decided to ease the restrictive measures of its previous decree”.

The country was now on the lowest level of alert, level one, but a few weeks ago it had been on level three.

Nyusi announced that the curfew in force in all cities and municipalities has been cut by an hour. The curfew now begins at midnight, rather than at 23.00 and, as before, lasts until 04.00.

The number of people who are allowed to attend religious services rises from 50 to 100 in closed spaces, and from 100 to 250 in the open air. But in no cases should the audience exceed 50 per cent of the capacity of the place of worship.

The number of people who may attend funerals rises from 20 to 50 – but, if the deceased died from Covid-19, the limit remains ten.

Public swimming pools may now operate at 50 rather than 30 per cent of their capacity, while the limit on audiences at cinemas, theatres, concerts and the like rises from 30 to 40 per cent of capacity. Limits on the numbers who may visit museums and art galleries have been entirely removed.

Shopping centres can now close at 20.00 rather than 18.00 on weekdays, and at 18.00 rather than 15.00 on Sundays and holidays. The same applies to informal stalls and kiosks – but they may not sell alcoholic drinks. Nyusi stressed that this is not a Covid-19 restriction – the law always banned the sale of alcohol from informal stalls, but this was usually disregarded prior to the pandemic,

Bottle stores may close at 18.00 rather than 15.00 Mondays to Saturdays, but must remain closed on Sundays and holidays.

Bars are allowed to re-open, provided they are well-ventilated. They must close by 19.00. The number of people in restaurants must not exceed four per table in a closed space, or six per table in the open

The number of people who may attend private social events (such as birthday or wedding parties) rises from 30 to 50 in enclosed spaces, and from 50 to 100 in the open.

One area where there was no relaxation was the country’s beaches. The 20 named beaches that were closed a month ago remain closed, and to this list the government has added the beach on the Revobue river in Tete province. There had been “a great deal of disorder on that beach”, said Nyusi.

The beaches closed are the best known and most popular ones – but there are many other beaches that are not closed, and can be reached by people willing to travel a little further.

Nyusi warned that these measures did not mean that the Covid-19 pandemic is over. The relaxation, he stressed, should not be regarded as an excuse for reckless behavior that could spread the disease and reverse the current gains.

Citizens should continue to observe basic preventive measures, such as regularly washing their hands, avoiding crowds and wearing masks in public places.

Nyusi said the current set of measures will remain in force until 20 December. He urged citizens to remain disciplined, so that the government is not forced to re-introduce restrictive measures on the eve of the festive season.

“The government is prepared to retreat”, added the President. “Retreating does not mean losing the battle, but managing it,”

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