Coronavirus: Africa and the pandemic Sunday March 29

South African police try to enforce containment measures in Durban on March 27, 2020. REUTERS / Rogan Ward

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Forty-six countries are now affected by the coronavirus on the African continent. There are 4,282 cases for 134 dead, according to the new report made this Sunday morning by the Center for the prevention and control of diseases of the African Union.

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  • "Avoid handshakes, keep a distance of one meter from each other"

In Mali, voters were called upon to respect barrier gestures at polling stations. The country is organizing legislative elections this Sunday despite the spread of Covid-19, the climate of insecurity and the kidnapping of the opposition leader. Soumaïla Cissé was abducted on Wednesday March 26 with six of her companions while campaigning in his electoral stronghold of Niafounké, near Timbuktu in the north. The ballot was postponed several times. Mali recorded its first coronavirus death on Saturday and identified 18 cases.

Read also: The state of the world facing the pandemic on Sunday March 29

  • From quarantine to containment

In South Africa, it is the end of the quarantine for the 114 teachers and students who had been repatriated from China on March 14. Since then, they had been placed in solitary confinement. " All are negative for Covid-19, " said the South African Minister of Health last night. Freed from quarantine, they are now forced, like 57 million South Africans since Friday evening, to complete confinement for three weeks. Only essential purchases are authorized. The sale of alcohol and tobacco is prohibited. Walking your dog and jogging are prohibited. According to President Cyril Ramaphosa who visited the 114 people released from their quarantine this Sunday, " many citizens obey the rules of confinement, but some continue to leave as if nothing had happened ".

  • Greater Abidjan isolated

In Ivory Coast, from this midnight Sunday evening, Greater Abidjan will be isolated from the rest of the country. The government has banned the movement of people between the economic capital and the interior of the country in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.

Read also: Greater Abidjan soon isolated, leaving or staying?

  • No confinement in Benin "for lack of means"

Beninese President Patrice Talon spoke on television this Sunday. Benin does not have the “ means of rich countries ” to confine its population, he said. Eight major urban areas, including Cotonou, the economic capital, will be surrounded by a " cordon cordon ". And from this Monday, public transport will be suspended in these localities, specifies the head of state. Under pressure from students and teachers in particular, the government closed schools and places of worship on March 22 and 23.

  • In camera in Madagascar for Independence Day

It is a first in the history of the Big Island. Due to the pandemic, the anniversary of Independence (March 29, 1947) was celebrated in small groups at the National Mausoleum of Antananarivo. Only President Andry Rajoelina and his government were present. On his Twitter account, the Madagascan president posted photos. " Outings should be limited to what is strictly necessary, " he writes. According to the latest report published on Sunday, 43 cases of contamination have so far been officially listed for no deaths.

Those who died in 1947 have left patriotism to us as a legacy. Their sacrifice and their fight will forever remain in our hearts. Let us pay tribute by showing our solidarity and united for the Nation. pic.twitter.com/HmLgXyyTJc

Andry Rajoelina (@SE_Rajoelina) March 29, 2020

  • Quarantined villages in Egypt

Several hospitals have been closed by the authorities, officially to carry out disinfection operations after the discovery of several cases of contamination. Saturday evening, the Ministry of Health announced that it had placed a dozen quarantined villages in Upper Egypt in particular. Authorities have officially reported 576 cases and 36 deaths.

  • Containment in Zimbabwe

As of Monday, 16 million people are expected to stay at home . On Friday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa decreed this measure to prevent the spread of the virus. To date, only seven people have been officially infected with Covid-19 in the country. But the death of one of them, a 30-year-old journalist who died of lack of care, according to his family, poses the threat to a country plunged into an economic slump.

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  • Coronavirus
  • Health and Medicine
  • Madagascar
  • Egypt
  • Zimbabwe
  • Mali
  • Benign
  • Ivory Coast
  • South Africa

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