Coronavirus: Africa and the pandemic Sunday May 10

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Africa counted this Sunday, May 10, 61,181 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The Covid-19 has already claimed the lives of 2,239 people on the continent, according to the African Union Center for Disease Prevention and Control. South Africa and Egypt are the two most affected countries, with 9,420 and 8,964 cases, respectively. Morocco, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Guinea follow.

Publicity

• Denis Mukwege's appeal for South Kivu

Denis Mukwege, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner, hopes that the province of South Kivu, where he coordinates the response to the epidemic in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo , has screening tests.

During a joint press conference on Saturday with the provincial governor, Théo Ngwabidje, the gynecologist said he was worried. While the four Covid-19 patients registered in South Kivu have all been declared cured by the health authorities, they have projected the exponential period of the epidemic in the country during the first two weeks of May. "  We solemnly request an emergency supply of these tests before the outbreak of the epidemic exponential curve  ," said Dr Mukwege. "  This will prevent many deaths, an increase in the precariousness of the population, an explosion of social unrest and the exacerbation of insecurity. "

So far,"  we content pandemic coronavirus in our province  , "but"  it would be unwise (...) falling into a blind triumphalism. The threat is present and our province remains vulnerable,  "warned the doctor, while welcoming the involvement of those who fight against the virus.

• Ethiopia admits to having “mistakenly” shot down a humanitarian flight in Somalia

The plane, a Kenyan plane belonging to the African Express Airways company, was loading humanitarian and medical material to help Somalia in its fight against the coronavirus. But it finally crashed last Monday. While investigations were launched by Somalia and Kenya, it was ultimately Ethiopia that admitted to being at the origin.

► Read also: Ethiopia admits to having “mistakenly” shot down a humanitarian flight in Somalia

Describing these events as “  incident  ” in a press release addressed to the African Union, the Ethiopian authorities evoke a communication error by their military troops on the ground. All the same, Mogadishu stresses that "  the aircraft behaved unusually, flying at low altitude  " and said he was ready to collaborate to shed light on this affair.

• Alerting Burundian doctors

Buses, churches and markets in Burundi remained crowded. Tens of thousands of people carelessly crowd each day in political rallies for the May 20 elections. It must be said that the country is one of the least affected by the pandemic, according to the authorities. Officially, the counter has been blocked for one week out of 19 positive cases for a death

However, doctors, who are afraid of revealing their identity, are sounding the alarm.

► Read also: In Burundi, there are more deaths than announced, alert doctors

Some say that at least six people with symptoms of Covid-19, all in respiratory distress, lost their lives this week in two hospitals in Bujumbura. These same sources claim, however, that the Ministry of Health refuses to test the sick. They speak of "  deliberate policy  " so as not to disrupt the electoral process.

• In Djibouti, lifting and then… extension of confinement

The government of Djibouti extended Sunday the containment put in place on March 23 to fight against the coronavirus. "  The government through the Prime Minister's voice today has decided to extend the confinement for another week until May 17,  " wrote Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Twitter.

The government, through the Prime Minister today, has decided to extend the confinement for another week until May 17. Noting that the prerequisite conditions are not yet in place, the govt has just made this decision immediately.

A few hours earlier, the same minister had announced on the social network "  the process of gradual reopening of the country  " from Monday. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf finally explains that the conditions have not yet been met and that the government has therefore revised its copy.

With nearly 1,200 officially registered cases for approximately 1 million inhabitants, Djibouti is the country on the continent which has the highest number of positive cases of Covid-19 compared to its population, according to the Center for Control and Prevention of African Union diseases. But these statistics must be put into perspective, since Djibouti has conducted proportionately more screening tests than other countries.

• Back to school is being prepared in Benin

Benin's primary and secondary establishments, closed since March 30, are due to reopen this Monday, May 11. To prepare for the return of students, in addition to wearing the compulsory mask, teacher screening tests were launched by the authorities. They continued this weekend.

The country has officially reported 319 cases of coronavirus and 2 deaths. Kindergartens will remain closed until the next school year begins, as will universities whose courses will be taught online via a platform. These measures, however, include many shortcomings for Anselme Amoussou, secretary general of the Confederation of autonomous unions in Benin. "  We are talking about progressive screening, this means that the government is aware that it will not be able to screen everyone before the start of the school year  ," he notes, noting that the students are not screened.

• Digital and solidarity vouchers in Tunisia

The long-standing initiative was launched at the start of the Ramadan fast in late April. A period during which thousands of Tunisian households lost their source of income due to the confinement decreed on March 22 to fight against the spread of the new coronavirus.

In cooperation with the Ministry of Women, the NGO “Sustainable Food Bank” has thus chosen 300 families, living in the poor neighborhoods of Tunis, to benefit from vouchers by phone.

The system is simple: each of these families receives a code by SMS which allows them to spend 40 to 60 dinars (20 to 30 euros) per week at one of the grocers in their neighborhood, provided that they are equipped with the application Viamobile.

The NGO, which finances these donations thanks to the assistance of entrepreneurs who compose it, then hopes to extend this initiative to marginalized interior regions. Beyond these aids, the NGO also wishes to encourage these families to be more independent, for example by teaching them how to grow vegetables in their backyard, or by selling homemade bread.

• In the DRC, towards a final cessation of the football championship

While the DRC has officially registered 991 cases of Covid-19 and 41 deaths, the football should not resume its rights this season. At a meeting organized on Saturday by the National Football League (Linafoot), club leaders spoke out for a final halt to the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 championships, suspended since March 13. A decision which was to be ratified this Sunday by the Federation, Fécofoot.

Our selection on the coronavirus

• Listen to our daily chronicle  Coronavirus info

• The practical questions  :
→  What is known about the mode of contagion
→  disparities and inequalities in coronaviruses: what to remember
→  What outcomes for clinical trials?
→  A vaccine, the only solution to stem the pandemic?
→  How to make a mask and use it well

• Our series  : "  The response, country by country  "

• Each evening, find the State of the world and Africa facing the pandemic

• See also the files of RFI Savoirs on the Covid-19:
→  Birth of a pandemic
→  Everyday life put to the test
→  The history of epidemics
→  Science facing the Covid-19
→  The geopolitical consequences

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