Macky Sall on RFI: "A wider curfew, but no containment" in Senegal

Audio 16:59

Text by: Marc Perelman | Christophe Boisbouvier Follow

In an exclusive interview with RFI and France 24, this April 17, the Senegalese president announces that, faced with the coronavirus, the curfew will undoubtedly be extended, but that there will be no general confinement, at least for the moment.

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First prevention. " I think we can do it without complete containment ," said President Macky Sall, this April 17, to RFI and France 24. To fight against the coronavirus, the Senegalese head of state has already set up a cover fire every day from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. When we learn of the death in Senegal of a third patient, Macky Sall specifies: " Certainly, with the new community cases [in the popular districts of Dakar], we will readjust the curfew hours, start at 6 p.m. and finish around 7am. "

Then the treatment. On coronavirus drugs, Macky Sall says all the good he thinks about chloroquine, advocated by the French researcher Didier Raoult. “ This molecule is applied when the first symptoms appear. We can still talk about the effects, but at the moment we have a remarkable cure rate. Since April 12, the number of cured patients has exceeded the number of patients in hospitals. During a crisis, we can do without some protocols. If we consider the benefits versus the risks, the balance would weigh more on the benefits side [of chloroquine]. "

On the economic front, the Senegalese President welcomes the G20's decision to set up a one-year moratorium on the repayment of the debt of African countries. He thanks French President Emmanuel Macron, " His Holiness Pope Francis " and even the IMF and the World Bank. " This time, these two international institutions were at the forefront of the fight ," he said. And Macky Sall adds: " After the Covid, I am convinced that a new world order will be needed, which will have to strengthen the resilience of all countries, because if tomorrow this disease remains somewhere in a village in Senegal or elsewhere, the whole world community will be threatened. "

When the Senegalese Minister for Community Development, Mansour Faye, also the brother-in-law of the Head of State, is suspected of favoring a transporter in the distribution of emergency food aid, are there any risks of diversion of international aid? In these times of combat for the survival of all, " it is a pity that we are brought back to the daisies and towards a debate of transport of food ", deplores the Senegalese head of state. But he immediately added: "I have just created a steering committee, which will be chaired by an independent personality and composed of members of Parliament, of all tendencies, and of civil society. "

Finally, on the judicial level, Macky Sall affirms that the former Chadian president Hissène Habré, condemned to life imprisonment for crime against humanity, did not leave prison until the time of the pandemic. "Yes, we transferred him [to his home]. He is nevertheless of an advanced age and we preferred not to run the risk of seeing him contracting the coronavirus in prison. But this is not an excuse to release him. It is a humanitarian measure. »Will he return to prison after the pandemic? " Naturally, when she finishes, he will have to join his cell. "

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• Senegal
• Coronavirus
• Containment
• Macky Sall