"Don't travel if you don't have express need," since only reasons of force majeure should lead you to make trips, appealed Silvia Lutucuta, in Luanda, in the presentation of the latest issues of covid-19.
"We have been following the world situation and we are seeing extreme confinement measures in several countries," including some where people "travel with some frequency," she said.
She warned that passengers may be at risk of being trapped in those countries.
"For this reason, prepare, anticipate and make a thorough assessment of whether or not you need to travel. Many of the countries to which you travel frequently already have the new strains in circulation, do not run the risk of getting sick in these latitudes because the situation is quite difficult and you are already seeing the collapse of the health system in these regions," she said.
Angola suspended air, land and sea connections with South Africa, Australia, Nigeria and the United Kingdom at 00:00 on December 26, 2020 due to the emergence of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2.
Asked if Portugal, the frequent destination of passengers from Angola, would also be included in the list, Silvia Lutucuta said that there are already some countries in Europe that have a significant number of cases of covid-19 with the new mutation.
"The reference we have is that, for now, [Portugal] has 38 cases with this new mutation. Of course - and that's why we're appealing to traveling Angolans to be a little cautious - it's all very unpredictable," Lutucuta warned, noting that Portugal is going to proceed with drastic containment measures.
"Depending on the spread of this new strain in Portugal, we will also take appropriate measures to avoid importing this new strain into Angola," she said, indicating that the four countries with which Angola has already suspended borders had "important" circulation of the new strain.
The ruler said that there will be signed "another joint decree", from the ministries of Health, Transport, Interior and Foreign Affairs, "with other additional measures to support this restriction.
The new decree, which will "probably" be ready by Tuesday, should increase the restrictions, after an assessment of the countries that are in the worst situation: "For this reason, we are drawing the attention of travelers, to pay attention to the evolution of the epidemiological situation.
As for Portugal, the situation is being analysed "with full responsibility" and "appropriate measures will be taken when necessary".
About the evolution of the pandemic in Angola, the Minister of Health insisted that only the fulfillment of the measures can "save" the country from a second wave.
"We are in a period of deceleration, we don't want to raise the numbers again and we still don't know what was the impact of the festive season", she noted, adding that the results will only be visible in the next days.
Silvia Lutucuta pointed out that, even with the vaccination, one cannot lower one's guard: "We have to say 'no' to the second wave and the third wave because they are worse than the first".
The health authorities announced this Monday the highest number of recovered from covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, with a total of 953 people, 61 new cases and four more deaths.
