Coronavirus: Africa faces the pandemic on Friday, May 22

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According to the CDC, the African Union’s Center for Disease Prevention, the continent recorded 100,666 cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, and 3,105 deaths from the disease.

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• Over 100,000 cases in Africa

It is a symbolic bar that was crossed this Friday, May 22. According to data compiled by the CDC, as well as according to the daily count made by Agence France Presse, the African continent has identified more than 100,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, and experienced more than 3,100 deaths from the disease.

Good news, however, more than a third of confirmed cases are now considered cured: 39,543 at the CDC count this afternoon.

In number of cases, the most affected States are: South Africa (19,137), Egypt (15,003), Algeria (7,728), Morocco (7,300), and Nigeria (7 016). Between the five of them, these countries record more than half of the contagions detected on African soil, although the figures should be taken with caution since testing capacities vary widely from one country to another.

In number of deaths, the heaviest death toll is in Egypt (696 deaths), then in Algeria (575 deaths) and in South Africa (369).

• Restrictions for Eid in Mauritania

After several weeks of mastering the disease, Mauritania has experienced an increase in diagnosed cases of Covid-19 in recent days. The number of patients registered has now reached 173, for 5 deaths. The authorities have therefore decided to restrict measures for this holiday weekend marking the end of Ramadan. Eid's collective prayers are suspended, and the curfew has been brought forward from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the weekend, before starting again at 8 p.m. in the following three weeks. Traditional family visits are also prohibited, the government recommending telephone contact. Schools and universities will remain closed until the end of June.

• Ali Bongo promises a bonus for caregivers and a large screening laboratory

The Gabonese president spoke on Thursday evening, as the number of positive cases jumped to 1,567 (12 deaths) in the country.

In his message to the nation, he promised a bonus for health workers, without giving details. He also stressed the importance of mass screening of the population, and assured that the large laboratory needed for the tests would be operational next week.

• Transport is filling up in Senegal, heads of caregivers

For the past few days, buses, express coaches and taxis have been able to fill all their seats again. Ministry of Transport decision to end the distance requirement. Even if the passengers wonder, the buses fill up and the professionals stick their heads out of the water, noted our Dakar correspondent William de Lesseux .

► Senegal: towards a return to normal for fast buses in Dakar

In Dakar, great chefs from the "Bocuse d'Or Academy" volunteer to prepare gourmet dishes twice a week to deliver them to medical staff and the sick, notably at the capital's Dantec hospital. Most restaurants in the capital are closed, so they rent an apartment to cook.

► Senegal: chefs offer 5-star meals to caregivers on the Covid-19 front

• The global crisis does not prevent the forced displacement of people

Despite the UN's call for an "  immediate ceasefire anywhere in the world  " to counter the coronavirus in late March, armed conflict continued and continued to throw many people on the roads.

According to a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council, more than 660,000 people were forced to leave their homes between March 23 and May 15. The NGO recalls that the displaced, living in deplorable sanitary conditions, are even more exposed to Covid-19.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most affected country: with 482,000 displaced, according to the report, including 260,000 in Ituri, an eastern province crossed by armed groups. Then come Yemen, in civil war since 2014, and the Lake Chad area, where the different factions of Boko Haram are raging. The other regions cited are Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Syria, Somalia and Burma, all of which have seen more than 10,000 people displaced during the same period.

• The World Bank is concerned about a triple calamity in East Africa

The World Bank has just released an exceptional envelope of $ 500 million to combat locusts. This money will go mainly to East Africa, affected by an invasion of insects unprecedented for 70 years. The region is in a very delicate situation, because the locusts are joined by exceptional rains, which have caused hundreds of deaths, with floods, landslides, destruction of all kinds, and have triggered a cholera epidemic in Kenya, with already more than 500 patients. All this in the context of Covid-19, which severely strikes fragile economies and hinders humanitarian action. The money from the World Bank will go directly to families, pastoralists, farmers, the purchase of fertilizers and seeds and the financing of surveillance and alert mechanisms, as explained by Sébastien Németh , our correspondent. in Nairobi.

East Africa: World Bank concerned about triple disaster

Sébastien Németh

• NGOs denounce human rights violations during confinement in Zimbabwe

These local human rights organizations have accused the security forces of nearly 250 cases of violence since the containment began seven weeks ago. Their coalition leader, Jestina Mukoko, declared to the press "  horrified and scandalized  " and called on the Minister of the Interior and the chief of police to shed light on these abuses. In particular, she asked for "  a criminal investigation into the abduction and torture  " of three members of the main opposition party, three young women found last week seriously injured on the side of a road in the outskirts of Harare, two days after their disappearance during a demonstration.

• 300 Moroccans repatriated from Ceuta

About 300 Moroccans stranded by the pandemic in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta were repatriated on Friday while 150 to 200 others could be in the coming days. To prevent the expansion of the coronavirus, Morocco had closed on March 13 its land borders with the two Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, suspended its air and maritime passenger exchanges with Spain. Other repatriations are planned from the Melilla enclave, from which some 200 Moroccans have already been able to leave in mid-May.

• Markets have reopened in Chad

The Chadian government reopened the country's markets on Wednesday evening after two months of closure. For example, the market for yarn fields, specializing in the sale of spare parts, where Madjiasra Nako went to N'Djamena. The traders were happy to be together, but when it came time to do the accounts there was definite concern. They ask the government to support them, in particular in raising awareness of barrier measures. Chad has 588 cases and 58 deaths due to Covid-19.

► Chad: markets reopen after two months of closure

• The uncertain promise of Madagascar's “ green gold ”

No clinical study has confirmed the effectiveness of artemisia against Covid-19, but despite warnings from WHO, Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina assures him, his “Covid Organics” made on the island , could make this plant the "green gold" of Madagascar, which is the second largest producer in the world. He even promises that the price of artemisia will soon be increased tenfold. An uncertain promise and a business explained to us by Claire Fages in her column on raw materials.

► Artemisia, Madagascar's new “green gold”?

• What is the situation in the African sky?

Since the start of the pandemic, airlines have been stopped and African airports have been deserted. Except for the flights intended for the repatriation of their nationals, as well as the cargo flights, the States asked the companies to stop their activities. The month of June should mark the restart of certain air routes for passengers. But the recovery promises to be long.

► Africa: towards a gradual restart of air transport in June

Our selection on the coronavirus

• Listen to our Coronavirus Info column 

• Our  explanations  :
→  What we know about the mode of contagion
→  Disparities and inequalities in the face of the coronavirus: what must be remembered
→  Triple therapy, Discovery… update on research
→  The race for the vaccine is in full swing
→  How to make a mask and use it well

• Our series  :
→ “  The response, country by country  ”
→ “  Nurses  ' words ”

• After Covid-19, towards a new world?

• 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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