According to the minister of State and head of the House of Security of the President of the Republic, Francisco Furtado, who this Thursday in Luanda presented new preventive measures to control the pandemic, to take effect in October, "the epidemic curve of covid-19 shows a worryingly significant increase in positive cases during the month of September, with a growth rate of around 13 percent."
The covid-19's Multisectoral Combat and Prevention Committee coordinator in the country said that the transmission rate tends to grow, particularly in the provinces of Luanda, Huambo, Benguela and Huila.
"In the same way, the mortality rate is increasing in these provinces, with a tendency to spread to other provinces of the country", he stated, noting that the change in the country's epidemiological picture was influenced by the relaxation of measures, aggravated by the circulation of highly transmissible variants and dangerous.
The vaccination process continues across the country, stressed Francisco Furtado, but requires more efforts and greater promotion to achieve group immunity by the end of this year.
In the presentation of the new presidential decree, which takes effect from this Friday and maintains the situation of public calamity, the Minister of State and head of the Civil House of the President of the Republic, Adão de Almeida, said that as of October 15th is mandatory the presentation of the vaccination certificate for public employees in general, for access to restaurants, educational establishments, meetings and activities in closed spaces, recreational activities in general.
In this sense, from October 15th, the health authorities recommend vaccination for all citizens, except those under 18 years of age, with emphasis on certain professional groups, namely civil servants in general, all those who provide services directly to the public (drivers, taxi drivers and motorcycle taxi drivers, as well as others who have contact with third parties).
"From the 15th of October, the vaccination certificate becomes a condition for access to various services", said Adão de Almeida, adding that, as an alternative, the negative covid-19 test can be presented, valid for only one week.
According to Adão de Almeida, the main objective is "to reinforce, accelerate and transmit an increasingly present message to citizens of the importance of vaccination".
Francisco Furtado considered that the relaxation of the measures led to a significant number of citizens no longer using masks and complying with frequent hygiene measures.
The easing of punitive control measures by the law enforcement agencies has also influenced the current epidemiological situation in the country, considered Francisco Furtado.
Covid-19 has caused at least 4,771,320 deaths worldwide, out of 233.23 million infections by the new coronavirus registered since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the most recent report by the Agence France-Presse.
The respiratory disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, detected at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China, and currently with variants identified in several countries.
