Mozambique will enter another 30 days of state of emergency from Friday, while the government seeks to relax some restrictive measures in three phases in the near future, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi announced on Wednesday night.

"We believe that our next steps are based on two fundamental lines of action: the first is the maintenance of COVID-19 prevention and control measures; the second is to guarantee that social and economic life follows its normal course," said Nyusi in a televised speech to the nation. Nyusi said the government has defined three phases for resuming social and economic activities based on the degree of risks to public health.  Phase one will start from Aug.18, with the resumption of face-to-face classes in higher education institutions, military academies, teacher-training, technical-professional and health institutes.

Religious gathering with no more than 50 people will also be allowed from Aug. 18. In phase two, starting from September, cinemas, casinos, gyms, and driving schools will reopen.  Phase three concerns activities considered high risk. Starting on Oct. 30, Grade 12 classes will be resumed, while other grades will be resumed as soon as sanitation conditions are qualified. Nyusi said many activities that were not mentioned will be subject to the regulations to be defined by the council of ministers. "We know that the situation is serious. The pandemic seems to be far from over, so we have to manage for a period we don't know," said Nyusi.