Luanda, ANGOLA, June 6 - The Angolan Embassy in Ethiopia held a virtual meeting (video conference), last Friday, involving Heads of Diplomatic Missions of the Member States of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), in the scope of the evolution of Covid-19, the prevention measures adopted for diplomats and other officials. ,

 

In a note, the Angolan Embassy in Ethiopia says that in addition to Angola, the ambassador of Brazil, Luís Pedroso, of Portugal, Helena Malcata, of Mozambique, Albertina Mac Donald, and Equatorial Guinea, Crisantos Obama, as well as Angolan and a Mozambican diplomats participated in the videoconference.

At the opening of the event, the Angolan ambassador to Ethiopia, Francisco da Cruz, informed that the initiative was also due to the need to create an opportunity to exchange information about the programmes of the CPLP member states’ governments, in order to contain the spread, as well as addressing the economic and social consequences of the pandemic.

With 18 deaths, and already in a community transmission phase, Ethiopia has 1,636 positive cases, a daily average of 113 new cases, in the last eight days. The capital, Addis Ababa, leads the statistics of infections, with 1,206 confirmed cases.

In addressing the epidemiological situation in the country, he stressed the recent consultation carried out by the President of the Republic with Civil Society to deal with the pandemic, and praised the support of the African Union, China and donations from the Jack Ma and Alibaba foundations, assisted by the Ethiopian government, in the transportation of bio-safety material.

 

The ambassador of Brazil, Luís Pedroso, expressed his deep concern at the fact that his country became the third with more deaths (about 34,000) worldwide, declaring that the rate of adherence to the confinement measure is only between 45% and 60%.

He made it known that Brazil has made recent donations to the African Union, in terms of medical aid material, asking that it should preferably be destined for CPLP countries.

The Portuguese diplomat, Helena Malcata, on her turn, confirmed the contamination by the New Coronavirus of a naturalized Portuguese citizen, resident in Ethiopia, asymptomatic and in a stable situation, in a private clinic, in Addis-Ababa.

Concerning Portugal, she said that despite about three hundred new cases, a decrease of eight deaths was observed in the last 24 hours.

Regarding Mozambique, Ambassador Albertina Mac Donald stressed that the State of Emergency was extended until the end of June and that Cabo Delgado represents the epicentre of the contamination.

The country continues to have its borders closed, open only to flights with humanitarian aid.

The ambassador of Equatorial Guinea, Crisantos Obama, said that at the end of April the infection was detected in a citizen of his country, travelling from London, on an Ethiopian Airlines plane, who, after his recovery, went to Malabo.

At the end of the video conference, the participants were unanimous regarding the institutionalization of the event, on a monthly basis, and that it should be organized by each CPLP country, according to alphabetical order.

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