Coronavirus: Africa and the pandemic on Wednesday May 27

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According to the African Union Center for Disease Prevention, the continent recorded 119,391 cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, and 3,589 deaths from the disease. South Africa and Egypt are still the two plays most affected by the pandemic.

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• South Africa to begin partial deconfinement on June 1

With nearly 25,000 confirmed cases and more than 500 deaths, South Africa is the most affected country on the continent. But during the press conference this Wednesday morning, the Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize indicated that the country would go into "level 3" from June 1, while identifying "hot spots", which they will remain at "level 4 ". In the latter cases, of which Johannesburg is a part, the health surveillance, testing and restriction operations will be maintained. 

“  A district-level alert system will help monitor those who need to take extra precautions. Emerging hotspots should be watched carefully. We must focus on the emergence of new infections,  "said the Minister. South Africa is one of the African countries to have imposed the strictest restrictions, in particular by banning the belly of cigarettes and alcohol.

• Senegal to continue with chloroquine, says health official

Senegal will continue to treat Covid-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine in hospitals despite the recent publication of a new study concluding that it is ineffective or even harmful, the director of the agency told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday Center for health emergency operations. "  The treatment with hydroxychloroquine will continue in Senegal, Professor Seydi's team maintains its therapeutic protocol,  " wrote Dr. Abdoulaye Bousso to AFP. Neither Professor Moussa Seydi, infectious disease specialist who coordinates the treatment of the contaminated, nor the director of cabinet and the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health have responded to AFP's requests. But Mr. Bousso said it was the position of the health authorities.

A study carried out on nearly 15,000 patients and published Friday in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet shows according to its authors that chloroquine and its derivative hydroxychloroquine do not benefit hospitalized patients and even increase the risk of death and cardiac arrhythmia . She recommends that they not be prescribed outside of clinical trials. In Algeria, a health official said the country would not give up chloroquine, and Brazil said it would continue to recommend hydroxychloroquine against the new coronavirus.

► Read also: Coronavirus: WHO suspends clinical trials with hydroxychloroquine

Aliou Sall, brother of President Macky Sall and mayor of Guédiawaye, in the suburbs of Dakar, has tested positive for coronavirus. Also president of the association of mayors of Senegal, Aliou Sall indicates that he was interned at Dalal Diam hospital.
To date Senegal has recorded 39 deaths, 3,253 positive cases, of which 1,628 are currently under treatment

In addition, preparations are continuing for a partial resumption of classes on June 2. Only students in the examination class (CM2, 3rd, Terminale) will return to school. In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, schools have been closed since March 14. Authorities launched a teacher transport operation this week, providing buses to allow them to return to their areas before classes reopen. Under conditions criticized by the interested parties. 

It's a bit rushed, it lacks organization. Will the conditions be met once in the places of service?

Teachers escorted by bus before resumption of lessons

Charlotte Idrac

Unexpected consequence of the coronavirus pandemic and the ban on gatherings on the beaches, an endangered species of sea turtle has reappeared on the Senegalese coast, near the tourist site of Lac Rose, about forty kilometers north of Dakar. “It is a turtle that frequents the Mauritanian coasts a lot. The last time we saw it in Senegal was in 1996, ”says the president of the Oceanium, Youssef El Ali. But the tranquility is short-lived for these turtles, now victims of poaching.

• The situation of Moroccans stranded abroad worries

Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic and the containment measures, more than 20,000 Moroccans have been stranded abroad. In question, the health policy of the kingdom which refuses to repatriate its nationals. A situation that becomes unmanageable both financially and morally. This is the case of several thousand Moroccans stranded in France who are still waiting to be able to return to their country. 

We ask that all stranded people be taken care of by the consular authorities and the Moroccan State. And second, the urgent repatriation of these people.

Wiame Ghmimat

Pierre Olivier

• Three Mauritanian police officers struck off after humiliating treatment

Three police officers from the General Group for Road Safety were arrested on Sunday and struck off from their bodies on Tuesday for inflicting degrading treatment on some of their compatriots arrested during the curfew hours.

• George Weah worried about the future of sport on the continent

The Liberian president, a former Golden Ball, was invited to the Africa Sports Ventures Group on Tuesday. While the championships have been canceled worldwide due to the pandemic, African sport is at its worst. “  I believe that the future of sport in Africa after Covid-19 is bleak and that there is no guarantee of recovery. It will be urgent to revive football and other games,  "said George Weah. On April 28, Fifa had announced a release of funds for its 229 federations, up to 138 million euros to bear the losses of recent months.

• AfDB Grants € 264 Million To Morocco

To support the “Covid-19 response support program” launched by the kingdom, the board of directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has decided to allocate 264 million euros to Morocco. "  The primary objective of the program is to help limit the spread of the virus and further improve the effectiveness of the authorities' health response. Thus, it will contribute to the increase in the number of hospital centers authorized to carry out virological screening  , "said the press release from the institution. Also according to the AfDB, this plan will allow “  access to financing for self-entrepreneurs and will strengthen the cash flow of very small and medium-sized enterprises (TPME). The expected result is to preserve 75% of the jobs affected by the crisis.  In Morocco, a country little affected by the new coronavirus with less than 8,000 officially detected cases and 202 deaths, confinement is extended until June 10.

Our selection on the coronavirus

• Listen to our Coronavirus Info column 

• Our  explanations  :
→  What we know about the mode of contagion
→  Disparities and inequalities in the face of the coronavirus: what must be remembered
→  Triple therapy, Discovery… update on research
→  The race for the vaccine is in full swing
→  How to make a mask and use it well

• Our series  :
→ “  The response, country by country  ”
→ “  Nurses  ' words ”

• After Covid-19, towards a new world?

• 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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