I thought it would be good to give an update on the COVID and travel situation over here.

Africa seems to be confusing the data analysts. When we arrived in March, late April was when COVID was forecast to take off in Africa. Then it was August. The last I heard a few months ago, December was the month that had always been predicted for COVID to take off. So far they have all been wrong. Beyond South Africa which had a bad spell, but is now recovering well, it hasn’t really taken off here.
There have been in Mozambique, so far, about 120 deaths and 14,000 or so positive tests. We have to take into account that the administrative system may not be as efficient as western Europe and the testing regime as thorough. However, the tracking system here seems to be good even if the testing numbers are limited. A friend commented that its hard to get test results back very quickly in one city in the North of the country, as they need to gather 40 samples before they can send them to the lab. It can take a week or so to get that many, so if you were tested first you can wait a long time for the results.
But even if the general testing is limited, doctors do know what their patients die from. There are other signs that this picture is fairly accurate. The hospitals are not filling up. They are being used for normal things; whilst there are dedicted COVID areas setup, they are largely empty. There have also been some antibody studies done here in Maputo. That should show how many people have had it. The numbers were really low, a couple of per cent at most in a couple of places. I think in one market it had reached 4%. The disease seems to be not doing the rounds here.

Why this is the case no-one seems to know. There are certainly some contributing factors. It is a hot country where most of the population spend almost all of their time outdoors. It is a very young population. Almost half of Mozambiquans are under 18. It isn’t a very mobile population so most people only travel very short distances. When they do travel it is usually in overcrowded Chapas (minibuses). But these have had number limits put on them and everyone in them has to wear a mask.
As Europe is going into winter, we are going into summer. I am sat outside in 40 degrees C writing this. That is an unusual day, its usually 10 degrees cooler. But we certainly aren’t staying indoors with the heating on. Some of us may be doing that with the A/C but that is the privileged few. For most, life goes on outdoors under the shade of a tree.
When we arrived here in Mozambique, lots of restrictions were put in place including 14-day quarantine when you arrived, mask wearing, school, beach, bar and sports closures. Although exactly where masks have to be worn has always been vague. Busy places and shops seem to be the key.
The country had a state of emergency for 4 months from April through to July. There were a few days of nothing as it ended (the president was not allowed to extend it any further according to the constitution). There had never been a state of emergency in Mozambique before. Not even during the devastating civil war. We have moved from a state of emergency to a state of calamity. What a state of calamity is, I’m not really sure. I think it’s a state of emergency with different wording. But as the state of calamity opened the president outlined his plans for opening up the country. He had a monthly plan. The priorities seemed odd but clearly laid out. Motorsports resumed before schools!
During the state of calamity, the president has given monthly statements and pretty much stuck with his outlined plans. Things are now way more open than at any time since we have been here. The beaches are open including the main one in Maputo, although alcohol is banned on the beach. Some sports have started again and school is gradually returning. State schools started at year 12 and are gradually adding another year group every few weeks. I think they are now down to year 7 or 8. Most of the international schools are back running in some form or other. Our girls’ school is back one day a week at the moment (Imogen goes Monday and Harriett goes Wednesday). The idea is they are gradually going to add another day per week every so often until they are back full time. For the girls, masks and social distancing are part of school. Even returned library books must go into a 3-day quarantine.

So life is returning here to some sort of normality. Thought the Baraccas (local bars) and in fact any establishment only selling alcohol remain shut. Restaurants remain open though and able to serve alcohol with food. Masks are still needed in shops, busy streets or in a car with non-family members. Hand sanitising and temperature checks are widespread. Although the effectiveness of the temperature checks seems dubious. I am often so cold as to be dead, but no-one seems to notice.
The latest big change for us is travel both into and out of the country. There is now no quarantine for those entering the country with a negative COVID test. That means we can go over to South Africa and return quite easily as long as we have a recent COVID test. OK but not cheap for all of us. They are about £40 each. Zoe had one recently and found the up your nose swab to be very unpleasant. We have since found a company that do cheek swabs and come to the house. That sounds much better.
The government has also just re-started issuing tourist Visas. The day this was announced we were quite excited and pleased as family and friends in the UK could start to visit. However, the very next day Boris Johnson announced the new UK lockdown that suddenly banned anyone from leaving the UK. But once that is over visiting Mozambique is a possibility. You can get a visa for £60 from the embassy, need a hotel booking or official letter from us inviting you to stay, plane ticket, a negative COVID test a couple of other bits and bobs you are good to go. And for anyone coming from the UK, the most dangerous thing in Mozambique in terms of COVID is probably you!