Coronavirus: Africa faces the pandemic Monday, May 11

Text by: RFI Follow

According to figures from the African Union Center for Disease Prevention (CDC), on Monday May 11, the continent had 64,214 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 2,293 deaths due to the disease. South Africa, which has passed the 10,000 case mark, is the most affected country, ahead of Egypt and Morocco.

Publicity

• Andry Rajoelina defends the “Covid-Organics” on RFI and France 24

In an interview with RFI and France 24, the Madagascan president has long defended the mixture of plants, including artemisia, which he praises to his African peers. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) called to order leaders who would be tempted to promote certain remedies without scientific tests, such as the herbal tea presented by Andry Rajoelina, and sent to certain countries on the continent. The Madagascan president affirms that for the WHO and for the critics, "  the problem is that it comes from Africa  ".

► Covid-Organics: "The problem is that it comes from Africa", says Andry Rajoelina on RFI

Among the last recipients, Chad received 600 doses, according to the Minister of Health, who intends to give them to the patients of Covid-19 "  as a dietary supplement  ". "  We have not changed our therapeutic protocol,  " said the minister to AFP. The possible effects of this herbal tea have not been validated by any scientific study.

• Fine and prison if the mask is not worn in Chad

In addition, Chadians who do not comply with the obligation to wear a mask in public places are, since yesterday Sunday May 10, liable to a fine of 2,000 CFA francs (3.5 euros) and possibly a penalty up to 15 days' imprisonment, according to a decree signed by the Minister of Defense and Security, Mahamat Abali Salah.

Faced with a sharp rise in cases last week with 322 cases and 31 deaths on Monday evening, the government on Thursday 7 May banned the exit from 23 cities of the country for two weeks. The wearing of the mandatory mask had already been announced in mid-April before the government retracted, confessing the lack of protective equipment available.

• Schools reopen in Benin

Benin is one of the countries that have relaxed their restrictive measures. The sanitary cordon around 16 cities in the south of the country is lifted, and CM2, middle school and high school students were called to return to school this morning. This start of the school year was preceded by a test campaign among teachers, some of whom would like students to be tested as well. Some 7,000 tests have already been carried out according to the government, 50,000 in the end according to the Minister of Health. This test campaign has soared the number of new cases: 319 and two deaths.

• Burundi : no election observers for the May 20 polls ?

As the country prepares to hold a triple ballot in a tense atmosphere, the elections could take place without observers because of the fight against the coronavirus. Indeed, the government sent a letter to the East African Community (EAC) to tell it that its observation mission would have to respect a quarantine of two weeks upon its arrival in Burundi, which would prevent it from facto to follow the elections.

A group of twenty people, mainly Tanzanians, were to reach Bujumbura this week. Negotiations are still underway while diplomats are worried about a "  closed ballot  ". Since the start of the crisis, Burundi has had a very small number of cases, namely 19 cases and one death.

► Burundi: a regional observer mission prevented from attending the elections

• More than a thousand cases in the DRC, an upsurge in Congo-Brazzaville

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has passed the 1,000 mark of officially declared cases: 1,024 confirmed cases and 41 deaths, according to health authorities.

At the same time, the Congolese neighbor observes an upsurge in cases, 333 now. Thursday May 7, Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso had announced on RFI and France 24 the extension until May 15 of the confinement in force since the end of March. But Prime Minister Clément Mouamba must submit a progressive deconfinement plan from May 16, 2020.

Harsh period for retired civil servants met by our correspondent Loïcia Martial  : not only do they accuse at least twenty months of pension arrears, but in addition confinement forces them to inactivity. They call on the government to show solidarity.

► Confinement in Congo-Brazzaville: the blues of retirees

• UN fears AIDS-related massacre in sub-Saharan Africa

According to the WHO and UNAIDS, a disruption in access to AIDS treatment would have disastrous consequences on the continent. The two organizations fear more than 500,000 additional deaths between 2020 and 2021, adding to the 470,000 deaths recorded in 2018, if the drug supply chain was broken, and preventive actions prevented because of the current health crisis . In 2018, the year of the last available statistical data, 25.7 million people were living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, of which 16.4 million were receiving antiretroviral treatment.

• After deconfinement : 500 new cases in a factory in Ghana

More than 500 new cases have been detected in a single factory in Tema, on the Atlantic coast. A single worker was enough to contaminate them all, according to Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo who extended on Sunday May 10 the ban on rallies, the closing of borders, that of schools and universities, until the end of the month. His government, however, lifted the travel restriction three weeks ago while carrying out a massive campaign of tests, including for asymptomatic cases, an approach unparalleled in Africa.

► Ghana: 550 new cases of Covid-19 in a single factory on the Atlantic coast

• Flexibilities in Togo and Ivory Coast, concern in Bissau, postponement of exams in Algeria

Guinea is also particularly affected with 2,146 cases identified and 11 deaths. To help stop the spread of the disease, the European Union has signed a contract to finance actions carried out by the NGO Terre des hommes on the Conakry-Koundara road axis, in the west of the country, and in the region. from Nzérékoré, to the south. The amount of the donation is 25.55 billion Guinean francs (2.5 million euros). Handwashing devices will be installed in more than 3,000 public places, tens of thousands of masks distributed, and more than 1,300 trained health workers.

In Guinea-Bissau also, the number of cases identified is constantly increasing (642, three deaths). Some doctors doubt the reliability of the analysis results, believing that the national laboratory does not meet the necessary technical conditions, and deplore the blatant lack of qualified personnel. The state of emergency declared on April 26 ends today but should be extended for the fourth time.

For its part, Algeria announced the postponement of the patent and baccalaureate exams to September. The start of the school year will take place in October, the university resumption in November, according to the presidency. The establishments have been closed since March 12.

In Nigeria, the governor of Rivers State does not mess with anti-Covid measures. Suspected of not respecting its closing order, two hotels near Port-Harcourt, in the south of the country, were purely and simply destroyed on Sunday May 10 on the orders of the governor, who was there to order the excavators. Civil society condemns and accuses the governor of using the crisis to violate human rights.

On the other hand, the indicators are better in other countries. The curfew in force since April 2 in Togo has been redesigned since yesterday evening, it is now from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Note that the public services were to reopen today from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. In Côte d'Ivoire, restrictive measures have been eased: there is no longer a curfew inside the country, but it remains in force in Abidjan, from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., for now until 'to May 15.

• The dairy sector in danger

Like all agricultural sectors, the dairy sector is in great difficulty due to the Covid-19 crisis. This is the case in Europe, and the upcoming dumping on exports of milk powder to get rid of stocks may have consequences for local African industries, warns a group of European and African NGOs.

These sectors are already weakened by the measures taken by the various states to curb the spread of the pandemic, which have led to a scarcity of fresh milk on the markets, Stanislas Ndayshimiye told us this morning in “Africa economy”.

► (Re) listen: The European dairy crisis threatens West Africa

Our selection on the coronavirus

• Listen to our daily chronicle  Coronavirus info

• The practical questions  :
→  What is known about the mode of contagion
→  disparities and inequalities in coronaviruses: what to remember
→  What outcomes for clinical trials?
→  A vaccine, the only solution to stem the pandemic?
→  How to make a mask and use it well

• Our series  : "  The response, country by country  "

• Each evening, find the State of the world and Africa facing the pandemic

• See also the files of RFI Savoirs on the Covid-19:
→  Birth of a pandemic
→  Everyday life put to the test
→  The history of epidemics
→  Science facing the Covid-19
→  The geopolitical consequences

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