Mozambican president, first lady test positive for COVID-19

MAPUTO - Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and his wife Isaura Nyusi have tested positive for COVID-19, the presidential office announced in a statement on Monday night.

The president and first lady, both asymptomatic, got a positive result from a routine test on Monday afternoon and are currently under quarantine, according to the statement.

"Considering the current context dominated by high levels of infection caused by the Omicron variant, the head of state and his wife underwent the rapid test, the results of which were positive for SARS-CoV-2," read the statement.

The document said that the president carried out activities including visits to different locations, as well as holding meetings with several delegations at national level and beyond, during the last days of 2021.

"In compliance with the current sanitary guidelines, even though they are asymptomatic, President Nyusi and his wife took the immediate decision to strictly comply with the quarantine protocol, while awaiting the definitive PCR results," read the document.

Mozambican health authorities have announced that the Omicron variant is now the dominant strain in the country, as the numbers of new infections have increased in recent weeks.

In the last 24 hours, the Mozambican Health Ministry registered 12 fatalities due to COVID-19, bringing the cumulative deaths caused by the disease to 2,031 in the country.