Coronavirus: in Cameroon, mandatory mask in the face of the pandemic

Text by: Caroline Paré Follow | Ophélie Lahccen

Cameroon is the second most affected country in sub-Saharan Africa, behind South Africa, by the Covid-19 pandemic. Wearing a mask is now compulsory in public places. Interview.

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Yap Boum II is a professor of microbiology in Yaoundé, Cameroon. He is the regional representative of the research and epidemiology branch of Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Tuesday, April 14 in the morning, he was a guest on the program Priorité santé , on RFI.

What are the latest figures for your country?

The latest figures were Monday, April 13, of 855 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 15 deaths, mainly in the central region where the capital, Yaoundé is located. There is a second outbreak on the coast, near Douala, where a massive screening campaign has been implemented. We expect to see more cases confirmed in the coming days, once all of these samples have been analyzed.

All over the world, we know that the number of people tested positive does not necessarily give the true "picture" of the epidemic. This is due to the lack of tests, the fact that many people do not necessarily have the symptoms, or do not identify them. Today, do we have an idea of ​​the proportion of cases that develop severe forms of the disease in Cameroon?

We have a proportion. The organization ensures that all asymptomatic cases are confirmed and that those with clinical signs are transferred to a place of containment and to hospitals. Those who need intensive care are in hospitals with the capacity to do so. Today, we are around 1% who need intensive care.

Are there common features, a profile for these severe cases ?

Today it is difficult to say. It is all the interest to be able to take the data well on the characteristics of the patients. It is a work done in parallel with patient care. When we have more perspective, we will be able to really see the types of cases, age, comorbidities, etc. For the moment, we are more in the care / action than in the collection and interpretation of data.

Some countries have made it mandatory to wear a mask to protect the population. However, these masks are not always available and accessible. For prevention to be effective, the measures taken by the government must be consistent with the means of the population ...

It is essential to have this consistency, indeed. On the one hand, there is the obligation to wear a mask by the government and on the other, there is the difficulty of individuals in obtaining it. What is interesting is to see resilience. There are companies that switch to the production of masks. There are dressmakers, tailors in the streets of Yaoundé who start to make masks so that the population can be equipped at low prices. It is a real challenge! We will still need support for these companies and find a way to distribute these masks to those who really have nothing and can potentially be vectors of the disease: street children, people in prisons, etc.

What strategies have been implemented today in Cameroon by the authorities to limit the spread of the virus?

The first strategy is social distancing: limit gatherings, funerals, places of mass, bars which are very important for social ties in Cameroon and are closed after 6 p.m. Since Monday, it is the wearing of the compulsory mask in all public places. The other issue is to decentralize care, at the lowest level of the health pyramid, so that people in remote villages or towns can be taken care of at this level. What is happening now is that health care professionals have been scared, like everyone else, and patients have found themselves on their own.

Do you feel that these measures correspond to Cameroonian realities or are there any necessary adaptations?

I think everyone agrees that total containment is probably one of the most important weapons to resist this virus. Financially, economically, politically, it is a challenge. We have to find the happy medium. I think that we must move towards confining the most vulnerable people: the elderly, people with co-morbidities (diabetes, hypertension, etc.). These are the people who will probably do the most critical forms that our health care system cannot afford.

How to do for those who have to go out every day, to earn a living?

This is when we speak of African solidarity. How can we mobilize, organize ourselves so that these people continue to be able to earn a living? This can be done alternately and the government must be able to support them so that they have enough to eat. We have seen in some countries, such as Nigeria, that philanthropists have given money to help the most left to fend for themselves.

Today, does the continent have the resources to start researching suitable solutions and solutions?

Before embarking on systematic use, as is done in Senegal, with chloroquine, it seems important to me to have data on our populations. What worked in Marseille does not necessarily work in Africa. Professor Raoult is an excellent virologist, but the implementation of clinical trials meets other conditions, other requirements even in an epidemic state. I think it is important for Africans to be able to do their own clinical trials on chloroquine, but also on other possibilities: ivermectin, traditional African plants ... Do we have the human resources to conduct what type of research? Yes ! Do we have the financial resources to do it? We should be able to find them within our governments which signed the Abuja agreements, but also at the level of our philanthropists, sportsmen, who can put their hands in their pockets, so that we can have solutions for our populations.

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