Coronavirus: Africa and the pandemic on Friday April 10

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Africa had this Friday, April 10, 12,492 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The Covid-19 has already claimed the lives of 649 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

• Wearing a mandatory mask in the DRC

As of Monday, April 13, wearing a mask will be compulsory in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Bukavu and throughout South Kivu, announces Denis Mukwege, who coordinates the response to the coronavirus in the region.

# Covid19 affects us all! But we are all part of the solution. To protect oneself is to protect others. Make your own cloth mask and wear it! The wearing of the mask will be mandatory in #Bukavu and throughout South Kivu from Monday, April 13, 2020.

The DRC will have to continue fighting another disease on its territory since a new case of Ebola has been declared in Béni. The man is 26, according to the disease response team. It is a case of community death, that is, the patient died in the community. However, the end of the epidemic had to be officially declared three days later.

• Bombs close hospital in Libya

One of the main hospitals in the capital Tripoli had to close, according to the transitional government supported by the United Nations. Health officials say El Khadra hospital was bombed again on Thursday, April 9. It is the third such attack in a few days.

This week, the UN humanitarian coordinator, Yacoub El Hillo, called the bombing "a gross violation of international humanitarian law ". He called on the belligerents to stop fighting and focus on fighting the virus.

• Prolonged confinement in South Africa

This Thursday evening, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the extension of containment measures in the country for two weeks, until the end of April.

During the two weeks before confinement, the daily increase in the number of new cases of Covid-19 was around 42%, the president said in a television intervention. But since the start of containment on March 27, it has been around 4% per day, he added. " If we end confinement too early (...), we risk a massive and uncontrollable resurgence of the disease, " he warned. South Africa has exceeded 2,000 people officially infected with the coronavirus (exactly 2,003 patients).

“After careful consideration of the available evidence, the National Coronavirus Command Council has decided to extend the nation-wide lockdown by a further two weeks beyond the initial 21 days,” President Cyril Ramaphosa. https://t.co/x9LJcpgPPG

New measures to support the economy will be taken, promises Cyril Ramaphosa. The South African president announced that he and all members of the government were going to participate in the national effort by reducing their wages by a third.

In addition, since the start of confinement, the number of acts of violence against women has increased sharply in the country, as in many others in Africa. The government has adopted a series of measures, such as setting up a hotline. But women's rights associations are concerned about the situation in the homes , where many victims are locked up with their torturers.

• Ghana also extends containment

President Nana Akufo-Addo said Thursday evening in a television address that the confinement in Accra and the Kumasi region is extended by a week from Monday. " It is important that we stay the course and bear the difficulties that arise from it, " said the head of state. Ghana has so far reported 313 cases of coronavirus.

• Easter weekend disrupted by the coronavirus

Placed in a state of health emergency for three months, the places of worship are closed to the public in Togo . The Easter festivities programs are therefore turned upside down and Lomé, the capital, and Sokodé are subject to a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and during Easter festivities.

But that does not prevent Christians from celebrating Easter, in sobriety and through the media and social networks. The Archbishop of Lomé, Mgr. Nicodemus Yves Barrigah, also proposed to the priests: " On Easter day, if you want, you can collect the names of some of your faithful, those who want it, and paste these names on the benches of your churches to materialize thus their presence ”.

• AU in turn condemns the words of two French researchers

In a statement, the director of the African Union Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Dr. John Nkengasong, " strongly condemns the disgusting words of Professors Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Lotch on French television about use of Africans as guinea pigs to test a tuberculosis vaccine in clinical trials to see if it protects against Covid-19. These racist and condescending remarks must be condemned by all decent human beings. Indeed, Covid-19 is a global humanitarian crisis that requires global action and global solidarity . ”

• Controversy over a possible extension of Touadera's mandate due to the coronavirus

Several deputies believe that we must prepare for a possible postponement of the presidential election scheduled for December 27 in the Central African Republic. Mathurin Dimbélé, second vice-president of the National Assembly, explains that a bill is being prepared to extend the presidential mandate by six months, as well as those of deputies and all other institutions. The opposition is concerned about possible instability in the country.

• Negotiations still postponed in Sudan

Sudanese armed group and Khartoum transitional government negotiators meeting in Juba, South Sudan, are giving themselves more time to reach an agreement. Started in October and initially scheduled to conclude in December, peace talks are now due to be concluded on May 9. The deadline for these talks has been extended several times. Now, the restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic are delaying discussions.

• In the midst of a pandemic, the locust invasion continues in East Africa

The countries of the Horn of Africa are facing the largest invasion of locusts in decades and the situation is worrying, according to the FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Closed borders, shutdown industries and greatly reduced air freight ... The world economy is slowing down and Cyril Ferrand, FAO resilience unit in East Africa, explains that this poses a problem of delays in deliveries of pesticides and sprayers. " Our top priority is to prevent a shortage of pesticides in each country, " he says. " It would be dramatic for the rural populations whose livelihoods and food security depend on the success of our campaign ." Indeed, a swarm of 1 km² is capable of swallowing up the daily ration of 35,000 people.

The fight against desert locusts in East Africa goes on despite # COVID19 restrictions, @ UN's @FAOnews says, the agency leading the effort to defeat hunger.https: //t.co/oHSvDgTXKP

• In sub-Saharan Africa, pandemic complicates humanitarian aid

In sub-Saharan Africa where, according to the UN, 76 million people need the help of humanitarian organizations to live, the pandemic of new coronavirus further complicates the work of NGOs which support already very vulnerable populations.

In Cameroon , a polio vaccination campaign is " suspended ". In Chad , the one against measles which is " postponed ". In Niger and Burkina Faso , prey to attacks by jihadist groups, flights carrying aid workers are suspended. In the Central African Republic , chlorine, necessary to provide drinking water to the displaced, is running out. The closing of borders and restrictions on movement within countries are an additional obstacle to the work of humanitarian workers.

NGOs everywhere are trying to negotiate with the authorities " humanitarian corridors " and exemptions for their staff, but one of the fears of African governments as NGOs, some of the workers of which travels to the most remote areas, c is that humanitarians don't spread the virus. Albert Zeufack, chief economist of the World Bank for Africa, however believes that the humanitarian needs are immense: " a food crisis could be added to the recession in Africa ", he declared in an interview with RFI .

• The response is being organized in Djibouti, Benin and Nigeria

The state of Lagos in Nigeria is launching a door-to-door diagnostic test campaign. " Health workers will ask about possible symptoms of coughs, colds and fever, " said Professor Akin Abayomi in a tweet from the Lagos state government.

Quote of the Day @ jidesanwoolu @ LSMOH @ ProfAkinAbayomi # QOTD # LagosAgainstCovid19 # COVID19Lagos # LASG # ForAGreaterLagos pic.twitter.com/BLv1QdsnyT

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 ?
→ How do you treat Covid-19 patients ?
→ Update on ongoing clinical trials
→ How the Institut Pasteur hopes to find a vaccine
→ How to make a mask and use it well

• 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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