Covid-19: President Security House staff are testing positive in Angola. Ruling MPLA politburo member also tested positive

Thirty soldiers assigned to the Security House of the President of the Republic tested positive for Covid-19, in the scope of screening done by the health authorities.

Minister of State and Head of Security House of the President of the Republic, Pedro Sebastião, makes assessment of the Covid-19

The information was provided this Thursday by the Minister of State and Head of the Security House of the President, Pedro Sebastião, who said they were already under medical care.

According to the Minister of State, who was speaking at a press conference, they do not pose a risk to the Head of State, João Lourenço, and the First Lady of the Republic, Ana Dias Lourenço.

He explained that the infected military are part of the fourth security ring of the Pesident, which does not maintain any direct contact with the presidential couple.

Pedro Sebastião said, on the other hand, that the national authorities will inform the country on possible tests to the President of the Republic.

He said that all the preventive measures recommended by the health authorities to cut the chain of transmission of the virus have already been taken, regularly testing all the members that make up the structure of the security of the President of the Republic.

He also made it known that all the members of the Multi-sectoral Commission for the Prevention and Combat of Covid-19 have been tested fortnightly, adding already four negative tests for each member of that commission.

Ruling MPLA politburo member tests positive

According to the source, the member of the party, whose identity is omitted for reasons of privacy made a random test when he intended to move from Luanda to a province.

 Albino Carlos added that, due to a public health imperative and that which is embodied in the norms of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Angolan health authorities will test all members of the MPLA's politburo, who attended the last meeting of the party.

In the meantime, the Health Minister, Silvia Lutucuta, told Angop that the infected person is asymptomatic and that, as a public health measure, all his contacts will be traced.

Silvia Lutucuta also announced that mass screenings are already scheduled in many locations, with particular focus on markets, as of Wednesday, and that screenings will continue at emergency hospital banks.

With 62 new positive cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the country's epidemiological picture counts on 458 infected, 23 deaths, 117 recovered and 319 active cases.