Coronavirus: Africa and the pandemic on Saturday March 28

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Africa counted this Saturday March 28 3,924 confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in 46 countries. The Covid-19 has already claimed 117 lives (116 in Egypt and 1 in South Africa), according to the African Union Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Publicity

• From Madagascar to Kenya, exodus and transhumance

On foot, by bike, hundreds of Malagasy people have been fleeing the capital Antananarivo for several days to take refuge in the countryside. On national road 7, a dam has been set up and the temperature of the Malagasy people is controlled, indicate the health authorities. Same flight scenes in Kenya where the curfew was imposed at night. Kenyans storm collective minibuses to get away from big cities.

• In South Africa, whipping and shooting of rubber bullets

This Saturday morning, in front of a Johannesburg supermarket, the South African police dispersed a crowd which did not respect the instructions of social distance. President Cyril Ramaphosa has decreed an unprecedented confinement of three weeks in his country, the most affected in Africa by the Covid-19. The government banned the sale of alcohol and cigarettes during this period. Walking your dog or jogging is also prohibited. The authorities have also planned an aid plan to make it easier for banks to borrow and lend. But the Moody's agency has just degraded the rating it assigns to South Africa.

► Read also: South Africa: the warning shot by Moody's

• Measures announced in Ghana

In turn, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Ado announced on Friday March 27 on television containment measures in two regions. Traffic will be restricted from Monday, March 30 in the Greater Accra metropolitan area as well as in the Greater Kumasi metropolitan area for two weeks. Only outings for essential purchases are authorized.

• The paralyzed giant

In Lagos, the most populous city in Africa, time stands still. The markets and streets are deserted, the hectic megalopolis has frozen. Authorities called on Nigerians to stay at home. Schools, public places and non-food businesses are closed. Trains are stopped, international airports too. The challenge for the African giant: to convince 200 million people to stay at home.

• Patients who also recover

In Senegal, the Ministry of Health reports 11 new cases of coronavirus. Seven patients, however, are cured and on the point of leaving the hospital structures where they had been placed in quarantine. One hundred and twelve infected people are still on treatment. No deaths have yet been reported.

• Prevention to cure better

In Cameroon, the Ministry of Public Health announces this Saturday the launch of a campaign to prevent and screen for the Covid-19 virus in Douala, the country's economic capital. A press release from the ministry explains that community health workers will visit “ households ” from April 2 to 7. Their mission will be to inform the population about the preventive measures, " to identify those at risk ", said the press release, and to subject them to a test to find out whether or not they are carriers of the virus.

• News from the Chairperson of the African Union Commission

Moussa Faki Mahamat announced on Saturday that he had tested negative for the new coronavirus. He observes forty two weeks after a member of his team contracted the virus. " Let us remain mobilized while the war in Africa against the Covid-19 has only just begun, " writes on his Twitter account Moussa Faki Mahamat.

• Chinese mutual aid for Algeria

A team of Chinese doctors arrived in Algiers on Friday. A total of 21 people with respirators and protective equipment, masks and screening tests. Algerian authorities welcome " this proof of brotherhood ". The two countries have close trade ties. The main foci of the pandemic in Algeria are the region of Blida, under complete confinement, and Algiers, partially confined and where a curfew has been decreed.

• Release of prisoners in Niger

Niamey declares a state of health emergency and decrees a curfew in the Nigerien capital facing the advance of the Covid-19. President Mahamadou Issoufou announced yesterday the release of 1,500 detainees.

► Read also: Coronavirus in Niger: the government announces a curfew in Niamey and numerous remissions of sentence

• More road traffic in Mauritania except ...

The Mauritanian Minister of the Interior announced this Saturday morning the ban on traffic between regions of the country, except for medical teams, heavy goods vehicles and special teams responsible for water services , electricity and telecommunications. The measure comes into force this Sunday from 12h UT. Mauritania has already closed its schools, universities, as well as its land, sea and air borders to commercial flights.

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• Coronavirus
• Niger
• South Africa
• Algeria
• China

On the same subject

Coronavirus in Niger: the government announces a curfew in Niamey and many remissions of sentence

South Africa: Moody's warning shot