Maputo – 14, April 2020 – In Mozambique, the number of positive cases for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has increased to 28, with seven (7) new COVID-19 cases confirmed in the last 24 hours, announced the National Director for Public Health, Dr. Rosa Marlene, during the daily press conference on the status of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Rosa Marlene noted that, in the last 24 hours, the Virology Laboratory of the National Institute of Health (INS) carried out 79 tests, 72 of which were negative and seven (7) positive for COVD-19. "Therefore, our country has, at the moment, a total of 28 positive COVID-19 cases, 20 of which are local transmissions and eight imported cases", she stressed.

To date, Mozambique has carried out a total of 762 tests on individuals suspected of COVID-19.

According to the Deputy Director-General of INS, Dr. Eduardo Samo Gudo, who was also part of the press conference, “of the seven positive COVID-19 cases, six (6) were registered in Cabo Delgado and one (1) in the City of Maputo, amongst them there are five (5) Mozambicans, one (1) Italian and one (1) Ukrainian, all male and ages varying between 30 and 60 years”.

Of the total of 28 cases in Mozambique, 14 are in the Province of Cabo Delgado and the remaining 14 are in Maputo City. “Of the 14 positive cases in the Province of Cabo Delgado, 12 are in Afungi and two (2) in Pemba” explained Dr. Samo Gudo. 

“All positive patients for COVID-19 have mild symptoms and are in isolation in their homes being assisted by medical teams. The persons which had contact with the patients are in mandatory home quarantine and are being followed by health professionals”, stressed Dr. Samo Gudo.

Regarding the suspected cases tested in the last 24 hours, Dr. Samo Gudo reported that of the total samples tested, 49 come from the tracing of suspected cases in Cabo Delgado, one (1) from the follow-up of traced persons in Maputo and the rest of samples is part of the routine COVID-19 epidemiological surveillance that is implemented in Mozambique.

According to the Deputy Director-General of the INS, “these are samples sent from different parts of the country that fulfill the mandatory requirements and criteria established by the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO). It recommends the following: 1) surveillance of travelers who show symptoms and 2) surveillance of all individuals who have severe respiratory symptoms, regardless if they have traveled or if they have been a traced contact”.

Dr. Samo Gudo presented that the Ministry of Health started a sentinel surveillance across the country about 10 days ago. It means that health authorities have identified health units representative of the provinces and, randomly, are taking samples from individuals with simple flu to be tested. “It is from this universe that the rest of samples tested in the last 24 hours comes from”, concluded the investigator.
 

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Technical assistance:
Dr. Israel Gebresillassie                                            Dra. Sinésia Sitao
Emergency Programme, WHO Mozambique         Emergency Programme, WHO Mozambique            
+258 844093539; GEBRESILLASSIEi [at] who.int (GEBRESILLASSIEi[at]who[dot]int)      +258 846723999; sitaos [at] who.int (sitaos[at]who[dot]int)

Communications 

Glória Moreira                                                               Helvisney Cardoso
Communications Officer, WHO Mozambique          Communications Specialist, UN Mozambique
+258 842935263; moreirag [at] who.int (moreirag[at]who[dot]int)                        +258 840448997; Helvisney.cardoso [at] one.un.org (Helvisney[dot]cardoso[at]one[dot]un[dot]org)