Luanda - Angola continues to have community circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Covid-19 pandemic with a total record of 165,372 cases from March 2020, the period when it recorded the first infected person, up to date.
Of the total infected people, 78% of which are from Luanda capital city, 103,416 people were recovered and 1,934 people died.
According to the secretary of State for Public Health, Pinto de Sousa, who was speaking to the press Saturday in Luanda, during the update of the epidemiological data, Angola recorded 22 active cases, whose five are symptomatic with two in critical condition and 17 asymptomatic.
He added also that in 2023, ten deaths associated with comorbidities were registered in Benguela, Huíla and Luanda provinces.
Regarding gender, the official said that men continue to be the most affected by Covid-19, with 58% of the total number of cases, in addition to affecting all age groups, especially the economically active population (ages 30 to 39 years), which concentrates 26.3% of patients.
He recalled that Angola observed four major waves of the pandemic between 2020 and June 2021, but as from the beginning of this year registered a stable incidence rate and transmissibility, a fact that indicates the control of the pandemic in Angola.
“Vaccination remains a powerful weapon for fighting the emergence of new variants that cause alarming epidemiological waves”, he reminded.
Number of vaccines administered
According to Pinto de Sousa, until April 15th, 2023, over 25.186 billions of vaccine doses have been administered, with more than 15.653 people getting their first dose, representing 83% immunization coverage nationwide.
Of the total vaccines administered, more than 8.738 users made full doses, corresponding to a 46% coverage.
On the other hand, the secretary of State for Public Health pointed out that 6.8 million people have not been fully vaccinated, while 3.3 million users are without any vaccine doses, a fact that puts the country at high risk for the emergence of recurring outbreaks and the appearance of new variants.
He pointed out that only the provinces of Namibe, Uíge and Cuanza Norte have complete doses of the overall coverage of the population aged 12 years old, representing more than 60%.
Pinto de Sousa said that Luanda Province reached 55% of the complete base system, that is, two complete doses or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
He also stressed that Cunene, Zaire, Moxico, Benguela and Cuando Cubango provinces have lower vaccination coverage.
For the ongoing control of the covid-19 pandemic in the country,
the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, signed Friday April 14 a decree updating the rules of administrative management in the country of the disease, given the relative increase in the number of positive cases in recent times, which measures came into effect at midnight of Saturday (April 15).
The update comes in order to prevent the spread of the disease and the return to previous crisis scenarios.
As for health control at borders, the diploma determines that departures from national territory are dependent on the presentation of a vaccination certificate confirming the complete immunization, without prejudice to additional formalities required by the country of destination.
The Presidential Decree also determines that entries into the national territory are dependent on the presentation of a vaccination certificate confirming the complete immunization or, alternatively, the presentation of a test for the SARS-COV 2 virus, of the RT-PCR type, with a negative result, carried out within 48 hours previous to the trip.
Minors up to 12 years old are exempt from the measures, being exempt from presenting a vaccination certificate or test when entering and leaving the country.
The decree signed Friday by President João Lourenço establishes, as a measure of health containment, the mandatory use of a face mask in health units and in pharmacies or similar services, its use being optional in other places of public access.
The document also states that as long as the pandemic situation and the risk of mass contagion persist, competence is delegated to the ministerial departments to establish rules and administrative measures for surveillance and health control that prove to be useful and proportionate to the mitigation of the risk, under the terms of the International Health Regulations and the National Health Regulations.
