In a press release, to which the Lusa agency had access, the WHO, which reaffirms the active support to countries in coordinating their preparation efforts, also listed these 13 countries due to the high volume of trips to China.
According to WHO, additional staff have already been deployed to seven of the 13 countries, with the complete deployment of all teams in all countries expected by the end of the week.
WHO is sending essential equipment for screening and managing suspicious cases at airports and entry points.
The note stresses that, although top priority countries represent WHO's main field of action, the United Nations organization will support all countries in the African region to prepare for the new coronavirus.
"WHO is collaborating with partners to increase the level of preparedness in certain areas, including with regard to raising community awareness and increasing treatment capacities, if necessary", says the organization.
In the African region, the top priority countries are, in addition to Angola, South Africa, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The organization also says that many countries are taking advantage of the knowledge they acquired during a flu pandemic to prepare themselves, since the coronavirus causes flu-like illnesses.
Allied to this fact, the note underlines, the countries' experience in preventing and combating the Ebola outbreak registered in 2018 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, led to an increase in the capacity for surveillance and the management of cases of infection.
The Government announced on Thursday that it has imposed a mandatory quarantine on all passengers from China and is currently under observation of 40 citizens who have returned on flights in the past few days.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Augusto, the quarantine applies to Angolan, Chinese or other nationals who arrive from China or who have been in contact with affected people, in order to prevent contagion with the coronavirus, which has already caused 563 deaths in China.
"We already have a reference hospital in Barra do Kwanza, where there are 40 citizens who arrived on the flights a few days ago", added the head of diplomacy.
Manuel Augusto assured that the Government "is complying with international standards", and creating conditions to preserve public health, admitting that "the measures are not friendly" and "they can disturb economic activity", because there are "partners and workers who may be covered by this quarantine requirement".
