Update in Gabon after two months of fighting the coronavirus

A man wearing a mask in Libreville on April 8, 2020 (illustration image). AFP Photos / Steeve Jordan

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In Gabon, for two weeks, the population has been living at the rate of partial deconfinement. Yet the number of new Covid-19 cases continues to explode. The Covid-19 disease control steering committee, on May 12, took stock of two months of fight against this pandemic in the country.

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With our correspondent in Libreville, Yves-Laurent Goma

According to the report published at the time of this conference, in two months, Gabon carried out 5,530 screening tests for the coronavirus. 863 were found to be positive. 137 healings have been recorded against nine deaths so far.

The most hospitalized asymptomatic patients

About 71% of the cases detected in the country are asymptomatic. To avoid saturation of hospitals, all positive cases will no longer be systematically hospitalized, explains Guy Patrick Obiang Ndong, spokesperson for the steering committee of the monitoring and response plan against the coronavirus pandemic: "  We are starting to have saturation beds, by healthy carriers of the Covid-19, while these people can be followed at home by providing them with a sanitary kit which allows them not to contaminate their immediate vicinity  ”.

►Read also: In Gabon, the controversy swells after the easing of containment measures in Libreville

In two months, Gabon installed three new Covid-19 laboratories in Libreville. There are five in total in the country. The objective is to carry out 5,000 to 10,000 tests per day. "  The choice of mass screening makes it possible to limit the number of patients who ignore each other and therefore the spread of the virus,  " explained Professor Romain Tchoua, specialist in disaster medicine.

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  • Gabon
  • Coronavirus
  • Confinement
  • Health and Medicine
  • Africa

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