Coronavirus: Madagascar suspends its links to Europe from March 20

Text by: Sarah Tétaud Follow

Madagascar is stepping up its measures to combat the arrival of the coronavirus. No proven case of contagion has yet been identified but faced with the spread of the pandemic, the president announced on Saturday evening the suspension of all direct air links between his country and Europe, starting Friday, March 20, a period of thirty days, renewable.

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With our correspondent in Antananarivo,

" You should not be visited at home. You have to stay confined to your own home. Okay ? Is that good, sir? You have completed the form, you can now go to customs. "On the tarmac, dozens of agents from Ivato airport , health authorities, but also employees of the French Embassy, ​​accompanied by the ambassador in person and the vice-consul welcome and orient passengers, caught off guard.

Because flights to and from Europe , Mayotte and Reunion have been suspended. Same scenario for cruise ships that are no longer allowed to dock on the island. In addition to these border restrictions, the country's health authorities yesterday declared compulsory self-containment for fourteen days for all passengers disembarking on international flights. A measure taken while some travelers were already in flight. This is the case of these 200 passengers on the first of the last three direct Air France flights from Paris - before the suspension - arrived that night.

Containment or return flight

“ It was on the plane, when we came to park here, that we learned that in fact we were all confined either at home or at the hotel, and that we also had the option to resume the return flight in 2 hours to return to France, ”said the man, accompanied by his wife and baby. They came on vacation to Madagascar to present the newborn to the family.

At the same time as they are given masks and hydroalcoholic gel , travelers receive a letter of commitment to fill in with their contact details and to sign. The " guarantee ", according to the Minister of Health Ahmad Ahmad, also on site Sunday evening, of the confinement of these so-called " at risk " passengers.

“ This commitment letter guarantees that passengers will respect the rule of not leaving their home for 14 days. In the meantime, we will organize unannounced visits by doctors and law enforcement officials who will come and see if they have temperature, etc. In addition, twice a day, they will have to communicate with our listening center. "

Like four other travelers, this Belgian tourist chose to leave immediately. From Madagascar, he will only have seen the airport hall. " The captain said there was a problem, that we should go to quarantine. Out of the question for us ! Because we do not know in 15 days if we can return to our country or not. Result, we just made a trip of 48 hours by plane at 2,000 euros ... It's sad that we were not told in Paris or Brussels not to leave. So in two hours, we will fly again to France and then Belgium. Disappointment, great disappointment! "

Medical evacuations will not be suspended

Sunday evening, the arrival of this first international flight since the restrictions therefore went smoothly. Behind the scenes, however, air transport officials and authorities are annoyed: the information transmitted would be vague, even contradictory from one interlocutor to another. The suspension of air links with Europe from Friday should make the situation more legible.

In addition, for the past week, the country's health authorities have suggested that all travelers arriving from abroad should be disinfected. Doctor Fidiniaina Randriatsarafara, director general of preventive medicine in the Ministry of Public Health, confirmed that a reflection was underway to know if such an operation was feasible and if so, with which products.

Since Sunday, international flights in the region, such as the Fort-Dauphin-Saint-Denis of Reunion, or the Diego-Suarez-Dzaoudzi (Mayotte), are also now suspended. Any flight connecting a destination abroad must now pass through the capital.

Civil Aviation, for its part, confirmed to RFI this evening that medical evacuations abroad will not be suspended. " It is our cell dedicated to medical evacuations which remains in charge of granting or not authorizations, " explains Tovo Rabemanantsoa.

To bounce back in the face of serial cancellations, the Madagascar Tourism Confederation and their parent ministry are already thinking about how to relaunch the Madagascar destination, and are preparing for the " post-coronavirus crisis ".

Our selection on SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

• Explanation: Why the WHO declares the Covid-19 epidemic a pandemic
• An infographic: The coronavirus in 7 points

• Practical questions:
→ Who are the vulnerable people ?
→ What should you do when you think you are contaminated ?
→ Quarantine, what are we talking about ?
→ What treatments ?

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• Coronavirus
• Madagascar

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