Coronavirus: Africa and the pandemic Tuesday April 14

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Africa had this Tuesday, April 14, 15,249 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The Covid-19 has already claimed the lives of 816 people on the continent, according to the African Union Center for Disease Prevention and Control. The most affected countries are South Africa, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco.

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• A moratorium on the debts of African countries

The big creditors of the Paris Club (lending countries) and the G20, including China which is one of the biggest creditors in Africa with a debt estimated at 145 billion dollars, agreed to a moratorium on the debt of the 76 poorest countries on the planet including 40 countries in Africa. This agreement, obtained by France, concerns 20 billion euros to be reimbursed in 2020 by these 76 countries, and possibly an additional 12 billion owed to the World Bank. Paris indeed claims that an agreement is on the right track.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) did not wait for this moratorium to act. As of Tuesday evening, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva announced that the Fund would pay the debt of 25 low-income countries, including 19 African countries, for six months. This amounts to canceling part of the debt of these countries to the IMF.

► Read here: Debts of African countries: major creditors agree on a moratorium

• South Africa recommends wearing a mask

The Ministry of Health "recommends that people wear a tissue mask in public" and publishes instructions on how to properly use and wear this mask.

The Department of Health has recommended that South Africans should wear cloth face masks when in public to prevent the spread of # Covid19SA. Here's how to use a cloth face mask 👇🏽 # Day19ofLockdown pic.twitter.com/xer0ebUYVQ

• Wearing a mask is also compulsory in Guinea

From this Saturday, wearing a mask will be compulsory for the entire population. " Any offender will be prevented from moving and a civil disobedience tax of 30,000 FG (2.8 euros) will be imposed, " said President Alpha Condé. " I invite the Ministry of Social Affairs and that of National Defense as well as all the owners of sewing centers to mobilize in the manufacture of local masks whose sale price is set at 2,500 FG ", specifies the head of the state.

# COVID19 The wearing of a community mask or bib is now MANDATORY for all citizens from Saturday, April 18, 2020. Any offender will be prevented from driving and a civil disobedience tax of 30,000 FG will be imposed. # COVID19GN pic.twitter.com/vkRibGgrUG

• Chad, however, backtracks on wearing a mask

" After having assessed the socio-health situation and taking into account the unavailability of masks, which are insufficient in number on the market, the government of Chad decides to lift the measure relating to the compulsory wearing of masks. In a press release on Tuesday, the authorities, which had initially made it mandatory to wear a mask, finally backtracked.

• The 21-day extended confinement in Uganda

In a speech to the nation on Tuesday, President Yoweri Museveni announced that all measures currently in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus were extended until May 5, including measures to contain the population. These three weeks " will allow us to study the situation over a longer period, " said the head of state.

Gov't has decided to keep the stay home decision for another 21 days (April, 15 to May 5, 2020) to allow us to study the situation longer. Thus, all the measures as previously announced will continue. We shall defeat this virus by protecting our people from its rapid spread.

• State of health emergency in the DRC: the Constitutional Court has ruled

The Congolese Constitutional Court confirmed the legality of the state of emergency declared on March 24 by President Tshisekedi. This question had provoked strong tensions between the presidential party and its partner, the FCC of Joseph Kabila.

► Read here: State of health emergency in the DRC: what to understand from the judgment of the Constitutional Court?

• Repatriation of Africans stranded abroad continues

On Monday, 32 Zimbabweans arrived in Harare from the UK. They were immediately quarantined by the government.

120 South Africans arrived in Johannesburg on Monday also from Lagos where they were stranded. South Africa has announced that 7 flights are planned in the coming days to repatriate its citizens from Germany and the United States.

More than 100 Malians were repatriated from Tunisia this Sunday and on the return flight, Tunisians living in Bamako were able to return to Tunis.

► Read here: Coronavirus: a hundred Malians repatriated from Tunisia

Thousands of Moroccans stranded abroad since mid-March and the suspension of air links with Morocco have multiplied calls for help, with open letters to the country's highest authorities and social media campaigns. According to local press, there are more than 16,000 tourists, students or businessmen in this situation, most of them stranded in France, Turkey and Spain. The Moroccan consular services have announced that they have set up "support units" and have paid for accommodation costs for some.

• The Burundi Football Federation announces the suspension of matches

The FFB Executive Committee, the only one in Africa to have maintained football matches so far, finally announces the suspension of the league 1 and league 2 football championships as well as the President's Cup. The Federation has officially decided to simply "rearrange" the calendar while maintaining May 31 as the championship end date. According to internal sources, the decision was made following pressure from CAF and FIFA to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

#Burundi After having analyzed:
* the state of progress of national competitions, two of which lead to International competitions,
* the program of the competitions to come, ..., the EC of the FFB, in its session of 12/4/2020 decided to rearrange the calendars pic.twitter.com/QRU2JHbl5R

• The United Nations sends equipment to Africa

The first UN "Solidarity Flight" is scheduled to leave Addis Ababa on Tuesday. The objective of these flights is to bring medical equipment and personnel to all the countries of the continent. The cargo of the day therefore includes a million masks, gloves, goggles, gowns, thermometers and respirators.

These supplies and those of donors like the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma are being shipped from Ethiopia, where a "humanitarian hub" has been set up in recent days according to the United Nations.

The 1st flight @ONU_fr Solidarité will depart from Addis Ababa today with medical equipment against # COVID19 for 1st line health personnel in all African countries. It will also help countries to step up testing, treat more patients. pic.twitter.com/SOS6uudiwx

• Eight doctors who died from Covid-19 in Algeria

According to Lyès Merabet, president of the Algerian National Union of Public Health Practitioners (SNPSP), eight doctors have died in the country fighting against the coronavirus since the beginning of the epidemic. The coronavirus claimed 313 lives Monday evening in Algeria where 2,000 cases were officially listed.
Lyès Merabet however mentions “ a relative improvement ” of the situation, with working conditions still difficult, but better than the arrival of the virus in Algeria, as reports the local press.

• Music in Senegal against the virus

" Daan Corona " is the name of a new title in which 20 Senegalese artists participated. From Viviane to Youssou Ndour, they all wanted to participate in the fight against the virus. “ Music, by this single, responds to the call of history. All profits will go to the Ministry of Health, "said Didier Awadi, of the legendary group Positive Black Soul, which also participated in the initiative.

• African cinema loses a star

Sarah Maldoror died Monday, April 13, 2020 in Paris, from the coronavirus, at the age of 90 years. A filmmaker, she has directed numerous films on the history of Africa and participated in the struggles for independence on the African continent, notably in Algeria, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

► Read here: Death of the Pan-African filmmaker Sarah Maldoror from Covid-19

Our selection on SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

• Listen to Coronavirus Info , daily chronicle on the pandemic

• Explanation: The origins of the Covid-19

• Analyzes:
→ What strategies in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic ?
→ What impact on conflict zones?

• Practical questions:
→ What is the lifespan of the virus ?
→ How do you treat Covid-19 patients ?
→ What results for the 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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• Coronavirus
• Health and Medicine
• Africa
• Containment

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