Maputo — Mozambique currently has the capacity to diagnose 2,000 cases of Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus first detected in December in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
In an interview with the independent television station STV, Health Minister Armindo Tiago said on Tuesday that the government’s vision is to multiply this testing capacity by 100 in the coming period “and guarantee that there are the necessary conditions to attend to Covid-19”.
Tiago said that the Health Ministry presented a contingency plan for Covid-19 to the Ministry’s international partners, who all declared that they were ready to support it.
Initially, the Ministry had imagined that it could isolate Covid-19 patients in tents. It then concluded that tents are not appropriate “and we have identified buildings that could serve as isolation centres”.
“Clearly we face challenges regarding means of transport”, said Tiago. “We want specific ambulances for Covid-19, and we are asking the private sector to supply them. We cannot mix up ambulances for normal duties with those used for patients of this pandemic”.
He said the Ministry is in discussions with its partners “so that, as quickly as possible, we can have these ambulances available”.
To avoid overwhelming the health service, Tiago added, people suffering from a mild coronavirus infection should stay at home. The experience from other countries is that 80 per cent of infections are mild.
“All people with mild cases of the disease should not go to hospital”, he stressed. These patients should stay in their home, and remain in contact with medical staff via phone lines open 24 hours a day. Only those with “moderate to severe symptoms” should go to the health units.
“If we comply to the full with these directives”, said Tiago, “our health units could have a minimum number of patients”.
People in a regime of home quarantine should stay in a room separate from those used by other members of the family. He pointed out that this quarantine regime was followed with certain other diseases, such as tuberculosis.
Tiago admitted “we obviously have challenges because a lot depends on the type of house where the patient lives”. Families living in traditional rural houses, built of flimsy material, might find it difficult to provide a separate room for anyone infected.
In the house, a Covid-19 patient should wear a mask to prevent the spreading of the droplets that are the main form of transmitting the virus. As far as possible doors and windows should be kept open to improve ventilation. Other members of the household should remain at least a metre away from the patient and should not share cutlery and other domestic utensils with him.
“If we comply to the full with these directives”, said Tiago, “our health units could have a minimum number of patients”.
People in a regime of home quarantine should stay in a room separate from those used by other members of the family. He pointed out that this quarantine regime was followed with certain other diseases, such as tuberculosis.
Tiago admitted “we obviously have challenges because a lot depends on the type of house where the patient lives”. Families living in traditional rural houses, built of flimsy material, might find it difficult to provide a separate room for anyone infected.
In the house, a Covid-19 patient should wear a mask to prevent the spreading of the droplets that are the main form of transmitting the virus. As far as possible doors and windows should be kept open to improve ventilation. Other members of the household should remain at least a metre away from the patient and should not share cutlery and other domestic utensils with him.
As for travel restrictions, Tiago noted that South Africa is not issuing visas for tourists, but continues to allow foreigners to enter the country for urgent business. He believed Mozambique should follow this example, and cancel all holiday or tourism travel – indeed any travel “that is not economically or socially useful”.
He said that on Sunday he had met with the Ministers of Transport, Industry and Trade, and Science and Technology, and they had identified public transport as a serious risk for the transmission of Covid-19. Norms were thus being drafted on what passengers should do, and what the owners of all forms of transport, from pick-up trucks to aircraft, should do.
At all terminals, he said, taps must be installed so that passengers wash their hands before embarking on their journey. Inside buses or trains, the surfaces that are in contact with the passengers must be regularly disinfected.
There is no vaccine as yet for Covid-19 – and Tiago pointed out that, with rare exceptions such as the anti-retroviral treatment for HIV positive people, there are no specific medications against viruses. He dismissed the claim that chloroquine is effective against Covid-19.
Most countries are using the medicines indicated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) – namely analgesics, and medicines to treat secondary infections, particularly in elderly patients.
Tiago warned against fraudulent cures. A traditional healer had contacted him saying he could cure Covid-19. “So I asked him – ‘how long have you been curing Covid19?’, and he said ‘two years’. But two years ago Covid-19 did not exist”, said Tiago.
Asked how much coronavirus treatment will cost, the Minister said the overall budget is between 20 and 27 million dollars. Most of this money will be used to purchase ventilators.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique