Mozambican President announces night curfews, first since 1992 civil war

A first curfew in Mozambique since the civil war ended in 1992.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi announced Thursday the southern African nation will go under a curfew from Friday following coronavirus breakout.

The curfew will run from 5th February until 7th March.

The curfew will begin at 9 pm till 4 am in the Great Maputo area which includes cities of Maputo, Matola, Marracuene and Boane.

Mozambique has registered 42, 488 positive cases nationwide, about half of which were recorded in January. More than half of the 427 deaths were also recorded in January.

Public hospitals have reached 100 percent in-patient capacity, while the private hospitals report more than 80 percent in-patient capacity, the president said.

In addition to the curfew, the new restrictions include a ban on all religious services, the suspension of all face-to-face classes, the prohibition of private events except for weddings and the suspension of sports activities including professional football championships.