MAPUTO, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The more contagious South African variant of COVID-19 has been detected in neighboring Mozambique since November 2020, said Mozambican Health Minister Armindo Tiago on Wednesday.
The minister was speaking to the press during an inspection visit at the Mavalane General Hospital on the outskirts of Maputo city.
"Since November, the new South African variant of the novel coronavirus has been circulating in Mozambique," said Tiago, adding that the most important thing is to observe the preventive measures.
The minister said that the increase in infections, hospitalizations and deaths is not only due to the existence of the new variant, but also due to the relaxation of preventive measures.
Health officials in Mozambique have been calling for more compliance with preventive measures, as local hospitals are running at full capacity.
As of Wednesday, 871 new infections were registered in the country, bringing the cumulative number of positive cases to 34,926. In the last 24 hours, health authorities have also registered 32 new hospitalized cases and seven deaths due to COVID-19. Enditem
