Headlines: 60 days ...

Audio 04:26

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

Publicity

“  60 days flat!  "Exclaims WalfQuotidien front page. It has been 60 days since the coronavirus appeared in Senegal and in many other countries in West Africa.

“  To date , the newspaper points out, 1,182 cases of covid-19 have been reported in Senegal, including 372 who have been cured, 9 have died, 1 has been evacuated and 800 patients still on treatment. The Ministry of Health and Social Action urges the population to strictly respect collective and individual prevention measures.  "

Indeed, notes 24 Hours , another Dakar daily, “  the response against the covid-19 is far from knowing its epilogue. And for good reason, the head of state Macky Sall has just extended the state of emergency and the curfew on the whole territory until June 2.  "

Health disarmament in Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, on the contrary, we are tending towards a reduction in measures against the pandemic ... "  In fact, the kick-off of these cascading reductions concerned the curfew first ," notes Le Pays . Initially scheduled to be observed from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., it has been lightened from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. The second significant relief measure was the reopening of the large Ouagadougou market. This was followed by the reopening of other markets and yaars in the capital and then those in the interior of the country. The day before yesterday, it was the mosques that were authorized to reopen. And the probability is high that the maquis and bars and intercity transport will follow suit soon.  "

Newspaper commentary: "Everything suggests that the government, already weakened by social discontent, the practically general incivism of the populations and the notorious loss of the authority of the State, fears much more the anger of the populations than the ravages of the covid-19. "

The Observer Paalga raises his voice and speaks of "  suicidal sanitary disarmament : brick after brick, we destroy the sanitary dike supposed to protect us from a deadly wave, deplores the newspaper, even though the figures, incidentally underestimated, do not encourage not necessarily optimism.  "

Why Africa is less affected

In any case, 60 days after the first cases of coronavirus on the continent, the disease seems to progress more slowly than elsewhere. "  The figures are there , notes Jeune Afrique , the continent now has just over 37,000 cases identified (including those already healed) and 1,600 deaths, against more than 3.2 million patients and more than 228,000 dead worldwide.  "

How to explain this phenomenon ? Jeune Afrique puts forward several hypotheses. First, "  the climate. This is the most common explanation. Like the flu, coronavirus is a disease that thrives in the cold season and does not tolerate heat, drought, or even strong exposure to the sun.  But beware, the researchers are still very careful about this.

Another big explanation, "  the youth of the populations : the doctors confirm that the majority of severe cases of covid-19 concern people over 60 years of age, which would be a chance for the continent, where 60% of the population is under 25 years.  "

There are also other hypotheses, JA points out again , such as less dense habitat, more limited travel between regions or countries, experience with epidemics and indirect protection from other treatments ...

Protective effect of anti-malaria treatments?

Questioned by Fraternité Matin , Ivorian doctor Eric Auguste Koména, specialist in public health, made almost the same observations ... He evokes the low density of the African population compared to that of Western Europe and Asia; the youth of the continent's population; perhaps pre-existing immunity; and " it could be , "  he says, " that there may be a protective effect of prophylactic treatments for malaria against the coronavirus . "Doctor Koména also believes that"  the systematic vaccination of BCG deployed for a very long time in Africa could explain the immunization of African populations.  "

The fact remains that the modesty of the figures continues to amaze, as the Congolese biologist Francine Ntoumi, quoted by Jeune Afrique , observes  : “  In some countries of the continent, we eat bats, people live on top of each other… In fact, everything is done to make it explode, but it is not the case. It is, she concludes , for African scientists to seek to understand why.  "

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• Newspaper
• Coronavirus
• Senegal