Covid-19: Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina announces new measures

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2 min

In Madagascar, the President of the Republic, Andry Rajoelina, spoke on the evening of August 9 on national television to discuss the fight against Covid-19. The day before, the state of health emergency was extended by fifteen days. The Big Island has 13,086 cases of coronavirus, including 148 deaths.

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With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Laetitia Bezain

The Head of State has therefore announced the rest of the health measures that citizens will have to follow for the next two weeks. These measures are lightened. The inhabitants of the capital, Antananarivo, who returned to confinement a month ago, will be able to resume their daily lives little by little.

Work resumes and the markets reopen until 5 p.m. for Antananarivo. But public transport and trips from one province to another remain suspended. The Analamanga, the capital region is in a phase of "  stabilization  " of the number of cases of Covid-19 according to the head of state, Andry Rajoelina, who specifies having heard the difficulties of a large part of the people who live from hand to mouth.

“  The Malagasy can no longer support confinement economically and socially , he said. The fight against the coronavirus is not yet over but there is a glimmer of hope. Scientists from the Academy of Medicine explained that towards the end of August, there will be fewer and fewer cases of contamination. But we must remain vigilant and continue to respect barrier gestures  ”.

Gradual reopening to tourism

No date for the reopening of the borders has been announced, except for Nosy Be, in the north-west of the country, one of the most touristic islands in Madagascar. “  Everyone makes a living from tourism in Nosy Be and at the moment, its entire economy is collapsing ,” continued the president. On October 1, we will reopen the island to foreign tourists. But we are going to put in place sanitary measures. All tourists who come to Nosy Be will have to do a PCR test. They must have a return ticket and cannot go to another part of the country  ”.

The Madagascan president also returned at length to the social assistance provided to the most vulnerable households. He notably indicated that 189,000 households in the capital will receive financial assistance within a few days to compensate for their loss of income.

► (Re) listen: Coronavirus: in Madagascar, tourism one of the most affected sectors

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• Madagascar
• Coronavirus
• Andry Rajoelina

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