East Africa: difficult regional coordination in the fight against the coronavirus

Test tubes in Nairobi during the national campaign on May 2, 2020. REUTERS / Baz Ratner

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In East Africa, coronavirus management differs from country to country. No cohesion and a virus that spreads across borders. Result: Kenya, which has taken strong containment measures since mid-March, closed its borders with Somalia and Tanzania this weekend.

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With our correspondent in Nairobi, Charlotte Simonart

Last week, a quarter of the new cases registered in Kenya came precisely from Tanzania and Somalia. Two neighbors whose management of the crisis worries.

Kenya therefore protects itself from Tanzania, first and from its president John Magufuli who multiplies the crazy statements. This Sunday, for example, he claimed that his son had recovered from Covid-19 with ginger and lemon, adding that the number of infections was declining in the country. A response from God to our prayers,  " he said.

Over 1,300 cases in Somalia

Tanzania records 500 cases of Covid 19. Data largely underestimated and very little updated by the authorities. Opaque management of the crisis. No containment measures, apart from closing school establishments. So dozens of Tanzanian truck drivers tested positive at the Kenyan border last week.

Positive cases also came from the northern border of Kenya, from Somalia. Country struggling to manage the crisis. Currently, there are 1,300 confirmed cases, but the lack of tests hides a much more worrying reality: there are undoubtedly several thousand people infected by the admission of health authorities. Kenya therefore closes its border there too, but a border known for its porosity and for being the playground for many traffickers.

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  • Kenya
  • Somalia
  • Tanzania
  • Coronavirus

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