The information was conveyed to Lusa by the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency officer in Angola, explaining that the step announced by the Angolan health authorities on Tuesday "is very important" and follows international guidelines.
"The WHO guides the mass testing of both passengers and the community," said Walter Firmino, explaining that so far direct contacts of passengers from these flights have been tested and the results were positive, during the 14-day quarantine period.
On Tuesday, the Secretary of State for Public Health, Franco Mufinda, announced that the health authorities will take samples of all passengers coming from Lisbon between 17 and 19 March.
"This second step of MINSA is very important. What is being done now is to expand [the sampling base], to try to rule out if more people are affected," said Walter Firmino, explaining that people may be asymptomatic and have been contaminated by the virus and may transmit it beyond the 14 days set for quarantine.
"The incubation period is 14 days and during that period the person may or may not develop the disease, but an asymptomatic person may have the viral load for about 40 days and may transmit the virus," said the epidemiologist
So, "people are only released from quarantine after being tested."
According to the specialist, if the test is positive "people are automatically referred to a treatment center".
People who are quarantined and asymptomatic do not have an epidemiological release before undergoing a new test, so passengers on flights remain in home quarantine and MINSA "will carry out the tests to confirm whether or not they are carriers".
On Wednesday, the collection of samples for passengers on two Lisbon-Luanda flights begins, on 17 March, at Américo Boavida Hospital and the National School of Public Health (ENSP).
On Thursday, passengers on another Lisbon-Luanda flight will be tested at Hospital Américo Boavida on 17th March and passengers coming from Lisbon on 18th March at ENSP.
On Friday, samples will be taken from another 18 March flight and from a 19 March flight, both from Lisbon,
On Saturday, the passengers of the Oporto-Luanda flight of 21 March will be picked.
All flights included in this process were operated by TAAG.
Angola currently has 27 positive cases of infection with the new coronavirus, a total of 2312 samples collected with seven patients recovered, 18 active, and two deaths, with no new cases diagnosed in the last 24 hours.
