Measures during the COVID-19 crisis in Mozambique

Mozambique showed a prompt response to the virus. Mozambique decided to close its borders and suspend public gatherings when the first cases of the virus were detected. (IGC, 2020) The government took several measures to contain an outbreak of the virus. These measures include:

The shutdown of schools from pre-school up to university, the ban of all gathering (including religious services) of more than 50 persons, the ban and cancellation of all entry visas, a 14 day quarantine for all travelers entering Mozambique, the creation of a technical and scientific committee to advise the government (Mozambique government and institution measures in response to COVID-19, 2020). Also, on economic fronts the government took different measures to stimulate the economy. The government of Mozambique asked its partners for an amount of 700 million dollar to help the country to deal with the economic impact of the pandemic. Besides that, one of the biggest measures is the introduce a foreign currency credit line for institutions participating in the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market, in the amount of US$ 500 million, for a period of nine months; and waiving the constitution of additional provisions by credit institutions and financial companies in cases of renegotiations of the terms and conditions of the loans, before their maturity, for clients affected by the pandemic, until December 31 (Mozambique government and institution measures in response to COVID-19, 2020). The country it's prompt response together with the limited testing in the country could explain the low numbers of confirmed cases so far (IGC, 2020).

Corona in Mozambique on June 2020

The lockdown started on April 9, 2020. Mozambique is currently still in lockdown. The outbreak of the coronavirus has changed. as a response the Mozambican government announced the continuation of level-3 state of emergency until June 30. The outbreak is still growing each day. In the last 7 days there were 114 new contaminations and 429 people are still sick due to the coronavirus. Mozambique has a total of 583 confirmed contaminations and 3 deaths. Because of the growing of the outbreak no tourists are allowed to travel to Mozambique, only Mozambican are allowed to enter the country. Events with more than 50 are banned. tourist attractions, restaurants and bars are still closed. (Covidcontrols, 2020) People are forced to wear face mask in public. Also a reduction of the workforce of 66,67%. currently there is one border between South Africa and Mozambique, but this is only for cargo. after arrival in Mozambique you need to go in quarantine for two weeks. The lockdown has a lot of impact on food security and the food systems. it's has a significant negative effect along the food supply chain from producers, processors, marketers, transporters and consumers. it's also represents an shock for Mozambique, it affects the welfare, nutrition and socio-economic, due to the expected loss of livelihoods and income streams.

When you compare the current lockdown with the lockdown of March you can see some differences. Of course the amount of contaminations and the deaths due to corona. Currently there are 583 confirmed contaminations and 3 deaths, while at the start of March there were only a few contaminations. In march they had less restrictions, for example travelling. The current lockdown forces people to wear face masks in public and the government had reduced the workforce with 66,67%. A lot is still the same, for example the two weeks of quarantine and the ban of events. (Mozambique, 2020) There is also a big difference when you look at the effects of the coronavirus. This is because in March the coronavirus just started. Like Annelies predicted in our interview, if the coronavirus gets an outbreak in Mozambique it will escalate quickly.

SOURCES