Mozambique: Samora Machel Junior has Covid-19

Maputo (AIM-New Ziana) -Samora Machel Junior (“Samito”), the son of first Mozambican President, Samora Machel, has announced that he has fallen ill with the Covid-19 respiratory disease.

In a message posted on his Facebook page on Sunday, Machel said he went to an emergency ward in a Maputo health unit early in the morning of January 1 suffering from a very high fever. Tests were conducted which showed that he had caught the virus SARS-CoV-2 – the scientific name for the virus that causes Covid-19.

“I have been battling against this virus for nine days with the support of my family,” Machel wrote. “The symptoms have been constant fever, a cough, fatigue, loss of the sense of taste for several days, and loss of appetite.”

“Mozambicans and our state are at a critical moment in the fight against this pandemic,” he continued, “with the number of new cases increasing every day, with the positivity rate increasing, with the number of deaths increasing, and with the capacity of our health system, both public and private, coming under increasing pressure, which could lead to its collapse, if the situation does not improve rapidly.”

Machel agreed with the health officials who have blamed the sudden increase in Covid-19 cases on a general relaxation in the measures recommended by the government to prevent the spread of the disease. These measures include the use of masks, social distancing, avoiding close contact without facial protection for prolonged periods, and regular washing or disinfecting of hands.

Machel warned that “our lack of personal responsibility will lead to an increasing number of infected people, an increasing number of people with moderate and severe symptoms, and a growing number of premature and absolutely avoidable deaths.”

Covid-19 is transmitted person to person, he continued “and so it is in our hands to block its spread, by complying scrupulously with all the preventive measures. It is up to each of us to avoid any further infections, further hospitalisations, further deaths”.

He urged Mozambicans “not to wait for the Government to decree more drastic and restrictive measures before we change our behaviour”.

“We don’t need to wait for the government in order to behave as conscious and responsible citizens, in solidarity with others.”

AIM-New Ziana