African countries on the warpath against coronavirus

A plane of the national company Royal Air Maroc (RAM) landed at Benslimane airport, between Rabat and Casablanca, on January 2, 2020. A total of 167 Moroccans from Wuhan were on board, including 52 women, a clarified the MAP agency. FADEL SENNA / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

In response to the coronavirus epidemic that began in Wuhan, central China, in December, which has already killed 360 people and infected more than 17,000 people, several African countries have announced additional health precautionary measures, as well as repatriation . Botswana has just detected five suspected cases, coming from Wuhan, which have just been placed in quarantine.

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Two planes left for Wuhan this weekend. A first from Royal Air Maroc repatriated 167 nationals this morning. Accompanied by a medical team, they were taken to Sidi Saïd hospital in Meknes and the Mohamed V military hospital in Rabat, where they will remain under observation for 20 days.

Algeria also sent a plane today. 36 Algerian students, as well as 10 Tunisians and a few Libyans are to benefit from this repatriation. And it is at the hospital specialized in infectious diseases of Algiers that these returnees will be kept in isolation for 15 days.

On the other side of the Sahara, Burkina Faso also today announced new measures. Alpha Barry, the Minister of Foreign Affairs asked the Chinese who wish to go to Burkina to postpone their trip. Those who have just arrived in the territory will be placed in a containment center. Furthermore, on the spot in China, twenty-two Burkinabè students are confined to their universities in Wuhan.

We are in contact with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we have agreed that the Chinese nationals who should go to Burkina Faso are delaying their movement until we see the situation evolve.

The Burkinabe Ministry of Foreign Affairs details the measures taken

Several countries had already taken precautionary measures this week: Dakar airport was equipped with thermal cameras to take the temperature of passengers at passport control ... The Mozambican authorities have suspended the issuance of visas for Chinese citizens.

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  • coronavirus
  • Morocco
  • Algeria
  • Burkina Faso
  • botswana
  • China

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