Coronavirus: Africa faces the pandemic Wednesday April 8

Text by: RFI Follow

Africa counted this Wednesday, April 8, 10,789 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The Covid-19 has already claimed the lives of 536 people on the continent, according to the African Union Center for Disease Prevention and Control. The three most affected countries remain South Africa, Algeria and Egypt.

Publicity

• Ethiopia declares state of emergency

Faced with the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the Ethiopian government announced Tuesday morning the establishment of a state of emergency across the territory, according to a statement. According to the Ethiopian Constitution, in the event of a state of emergency, the Council of Ministers " has all the powers necessary to protect the peace and sovereignty of the country ", and can suspend " political and democratic rights ".

No new measures have been announced, but general elections, originally scheduled for late August, have been postponed. Schools and universities are closed and employees in non-essential sectors are asked to stay home. Ethiopia counts today 52 cases and 2 deaths.

Considering the gravity of the # COVID19, the Government of Ethiopia has enacted a State of Emergency according to Article 93 of the Constitution.

PM @AbiyAhmedAli calls upon all to follow the ensuing measures that will further define the SOE. #PMOEthiopia https://t.co/wE93q32CLq

• State of emergency also in Liberia

Liberian President Georges Weah also declared a state of emergency for three weeks nationwide on Wednesday, with two-week mandatory confinement that affects four counties, including the capital Monrovia, to combat the spread of coronavirus. In a televised speech, the president clarified that it will be prohibited to travel between the 15 counties of the country from Friday at 11.59pm. All non-essential businesses and state services will be closed.

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo releases prisoners

Concern in DRC prisons where detainees are crowded with the risk of spreading the coronavirus. The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Justice declared to have ordered to decongest the penitentiary centers. According to him, 1,200 prisoners were already released Wednesday April 8 on more than 8,000 prisoners in the central prison of Makala. But, according to the Bill Clinton Peace Foundation (FBCP) supported by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), only 836 people have left the prison. In total, plans have been made to release approximately 3,000 detainees. For the moment, nothing has been set up for the Ndolo military prison, also located in the capital Kinshasa.

• Somalia finally has a diagnostic center

The Somali health ministry has announced that the country will now be able to perform diagnostic tests in the country. These analyzes will be carried out at the National Laboratory for Public Health Research in Mogadishu (NPHRL). So far the samples have been sent to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya for analysis.

HEY. @AbikarDr Informs the public that, from today, the testing for COVID19 will be done at the @MoH_Somalia NPHRL in Mogadishu. pic.twitter.com/S96rbIRzL4

Somalia has also lost one of its greatest musicians. Ahmed Ismail Hudeydi, "the King of the Oud", his instrument, died after contracting the Covid-19 in London at the age of 92. He is considered one of the founders of modern music in Somalia.

• Criminal proceedings in Tunisia

" If a patient does not comply with the required isolation and the instructions of the Ministry of Health, and thus contaminates another person, we can prosecute him under the penal code, and if the contamination results in death, he can be charged with manslaughter, "said Tunisian Interior Minister Hichem Mechichi at a press conference on Tuesday April 7. Several hundred people have already been arrested for defying containment and curfew measures according to the authorities.

• Two clinical trials in Burkina Faso and Benin

Two clinical trials started this week in Burkina Faso and Benin . Called “Chloraz” and directed by Halidou Tinto, director of research at the clinical research unit of Nanoro (center-west of Burkina Faso), the first trial only concerns Burkina Faso and aims to assess the effectiveness of chloroquine alone and chloroquine associated with azithromycin. Molecules which raise a lot of hope in the world and already used in several protocols against Covid-19, in particular in Senegal, but whose effectiveness has not yet been scientifically demonstrated.

The second clinical trial, called API-COVID-19, is being carried out in both Burkina Faso and Benin. It involves evaluating the clinical and virologic efficacy in patients with Covid-19 of a herbal medicine (herbal medicine) called Apivirine. Developed twenty years ago by Beninese researcher Valentin Agon, Apivirine is an antiretroviral and an antiviral in particular used against HIV. The Burkinabè authorities warn against self-medication, which can have serious consequences.

• Minister of Communication in South Africa suspended

It is an embarrassing affair for the South African government : Stella Ndabeni Abrahams, the Minister of Communication, would have braved the obligation to confine herself. In a photo we can see the minister sitting at table, all smiles, alongside five people at the home of a former Minister of Education, Mduduzi Manana. The photo quickly toured social networks and sparked outrage. The Minister apologized but was suspended for two months.

Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams apologises for breaching # 21daysLockdownSouthAfrica regulations. pic.twitter.com/F6tNwPH3Yl

Last week, a similar scandal occurred in Nigeria with Funke Akindele, an actress who is very popular there. The star had organized a birthday party for her husband, in his residence in Lagos. Over twenty people, including cultural figures, participated in this celebration. The photos and videos posted on social networks quickly drew criticism from Nigerians, who were already frustrated by the confinement imposed on Lagos.

• African Heads of State and AU Defend WHO Against Trump Critics

" I am surprised to learn that the US government is campaigning against the world leaders of the WHO, " Moussa Faki Mahamat wrote on his Twitter account, adding that the AU "fully" supported the director general of the WHO, the Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The president of the African Union (AU) Commission thus defended the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday against the attacks of the American president, Donald Trump.

Surprised to learn of a campaign by the US govt against @ WHO's global leadership. The @_AfricanUnion fully supports @WHO and @DrTedros. The focus should remain on collectively fighting # Covid19 as a united global community. The time for accountability will come.

President Trump got angry at the WHO, which he considered too close to Beijing, on Tuesday during his daily press briefing from the White House. He has threatened to suspend US funding to the WHO, of which the United States is the main contributor. " I am not saying that I am going to do it, but we will examine this possibility, " he said.

After Moussa Faki Mahamat's tweet, several African heads of state followed suit and affirmed their support for the management of WHO. Nigeria , Namibia , or South Africa and Ethiopia thus supported the words of the president of the AU against the American president.

• No parliamentary session in Kenya

Justin Muturi and Ken Lusaka, respectively spokesmen for the Kenyan National Assembly and the Senate, announced that the Senate sitting scheduled for Tuesday and the National Assembly scheduled for Wednesday were canceled. Local media reports that in their statement, the two spokespersons explain that the parliamentary session is postponed for an indefinite period due to traffic restrictions in Nairobi, decided by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

• Gang truce in South African townships

The BBC correspondent in South Africa reports " that an unprecedented truce has been decided in the crime-ridden townships around Cape Town, while rival gang leaders have put their territorial wars on hold. Instead of selling drugs and robbing people, these rival gangs collect food and distribute it to hungry families. The pandemic could therefore accomplish what the police and the military failed to do, he notes.

• Porous borders in Mauritania

Senegal and Mauritania have jointly decided to close their border, the Senegal River, but the Mauritanian chief of staff, General Abdallahi Med Lemine, was able to observe on the spot that people cross it every day so illegal, swimming or canoeing. “ We have been instructed to go here to see closely the living conditions of the populations of the border regions, but also to remind everyone of the reasons for the closure of the borders and the urgent need for this decision for the interest of all. To stop the evolution of the pandemic, we took the option of prevention. This is how we decided to quickly close the borders with our brothers with whom we have excellent relations. The decision was taken by mutual agreement for the benefit of our peoples. This must be clear to everyone, ”he told RFI.

Our selection on SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

• Listen to Coronavirus Info , daily chronicle on the pandemic

• Explanation: The origins of the Covid-19

• Analysis: What strategies in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic?

• Practical questions:
→ What is the lifespan of the virus ?
→ Who are the vulnerable people ?
→ Quarantine, what are we talking about ?
→ How do you treat Covid-19 patients ?
→ How the Institut Pasteur hopes to find a vaccine

• Doctors' answers to your questions about the Covid-19

Find all our articles, reports, chronicles and programs on the coronavirus by clicking here .

See also our contents on containment .

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