Coronavirus: in Côte d'Ivoire, Greater Abidjan soon isolated, leaving or staying?

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In Ivory Coast, from this Sunday evening at midnight (in the night from Sunday to Monday), Greater Abidjan will be isolated from the rest of the country. The government has chosen to ban the movement of people between the economic capital and the interior of the country in order to slow the progression of the coronavirus epidemic. A decision that shakes up the daily lives of thousands of Ivorians. Many have to choose between joining their relatives in the provinces, or staying to work in Abidjan.

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with our correspondent at Abdijan, François Hume-Ferkatadji

We are at Treichville station. For three days, this private driver has been working hard to pay for a bus ticket to the north of the country, before containment measures prevent him from joining his family…

" I plan to go to Bouaké on Sunday morning, " he explains.
Want to leave before they close?
" Yes, before they close, my family lives in Bouaké, so I want to be next to family, but I don't know how it will turn out afterwards ."

Because if the restrictions were to last, he feared that he would no longer be able to support his home.

Koffi is a delivery boy, also from Bouaké, and chose to stay in Abidjan to continue working. " I had the time to give my family a little money, so that they could last a week or two, I stay here, we'll see how it goes after ."

In a mini-bus which is about to serve the cities east of Abidjan, travelers, ill-informed, are very worried like this resident of Bassam. I am from Bassam, I work at the port, it will create problems, says this man.

In order not to paralyze too many workers, the authorities finally decided to include Assinie, Bonoua, Bassam in Greater Abidjan. Traffic between these cities therefore remains authorized.

This Saturday, March 28, Côte d'Ivoire announced 39 new confirmed cases of coronavirus. This brings the total to 140 patients in the country. "The care capacity in the country has been increased to 300 beds," according to the Director General of Health.

► Read also : Coronavirus: Africa facing the pandemic on Saturday March 28

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