Headlines: controversy over the wearing of masks

Audio 4:17

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

Publicity

As we know, the barrier mask is one of the most effective means to protect against contamination by the coronavirus or to avoid contaminating others. The countries of the continent have understood this. But how do you get it? At what price ? With what standards?

In Burkina Faso, wearing a mask becomes compulsory from this Monday. A government decision that is debating not on its usefulness but on its implementation.

Indeed, Le Pays points out , "  take such a measure with a view to the upcoming reopening of public places when the Covid-19 is not yet contained in our country, that makes sense as it would seem, but its application risks to come up against the protest spirit of our compatriots and the very availability of this product in certain areas of our country. In addition, although the government has decided to subsidize the large-scale production of washable and reusable handmade fabric masks, the price of the latter of 300 FCFA per unit, remains still prohibitive for many Burkinabè because of the more than difficult economic situation in which we live . "

Boomerang effect?

Please note, for his part, L'Observateur Paalga warns : “  our dressmakers, our stylists and army workshops are rolling up their sleeves to make masks made in Burkina available to the populations, in sufficient quantity and quality , which effectively protect against contagion to the coronavirus; health workers to give clear indications on the quality of approved masks, their mode of use and conservation ... Because, apart from these basic precautions, we must fear as a boomerang effect that badly designed mufflers exposed to dust and multiple improper handling by sellers or buyers, spread the virus more than they protect people . "

Senegal: the angry standard ...

In Senegal, now, another case of masks ... Since April 7, the wearing of masks is mandatory in the country, in public and private services, places of commerce or means of transport. “  This measure ended up infusing into people's minds, notes the daily 24 Heures, and bringing young craftsmen and others to mobilize to make masks, and to distribute them for free or to sell them, it depends, throughout the country. extent of the territory. Like mantras, the police began to verbalize any person who goes against this order of the Minister of the Interior. (…) But here it is, exclaims the Senegalese daily, that a confusing decision is taken by the Ministers of Trade and Industry: a decision making the certification of barrier masks mandatory to a compliance standard ...  ”

Result, deplores 24 Hours , “  the situation was already complicated, it became ubiquitous. (…) In these days of great concern, anger and misunderstanding should not be added to certain government decisions. By evoking the normalization of barrier masks, the authorities send a message opposite to that which the gravity and the urgency of the situation impose. To protect the community, you must not get out of it.  "

Féténiébé: 600 inhabitants and 47 positive cases!

Finally, still in Senegal, Walf Quotidien highlights the particularly dramatic situation in the village of Féténiébé. This village of just under 600 inhabitants, in the department of Goudiry, near the border with Mali, continues to break sad records. "  In the space of two weeks, this small town of some twenty concessions has registered no less than 47 people tested positive at Covid-19,  " notes Walf Quotidien.

Suddenly, the newspaper points out, the locality has been quarantined. “  The gendarmes surround the village 24 hours a day. According to a teacher on the spot, quoted by Walf Quotidien, the villagers are not allowed to go out. And people foreign to the village do not have access to it. "It is a confinement that we are facing," he laments, " when everything is lacking in this period of Ramadan".  "

But it is undoubtedly the price to be paid to prevent the pandemic from spreading throughout the region.

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