Coronavirus: Africa and the pandemic on Saturday June 13

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Africa counted this Saturday June 13 226 034 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The Covid-19 has already claimed the lives of 6,070 people on the continent, according to the African Center for Disease Prevention and Control. The countries most affected by the pandemic are South Africa (61,900 cases), Egypt (41,300), Nigeria (15,200), Ghana (11,100), Algeria (10,700), Cameroon (8,900) and Morocco (8,700).

Publicity

• In Darfur, a sharp rise in deaths and the shadow of the coronavirus

Does Covid-19 cause a massacre among the nine million Darfuris, inhabitants of one of the most underprivileged regions of the world? This is the fear expressed by multiple actors on the ground, humanitarian, medical and official personnel of this immense region of West Sudan with the Associated Press agency , while Sudan has a total of 6,879 cases including 433 deaths (193 cases and 54 deaths officially in Darfur). "  We are in the eye of the storm,  " said Ashraf Issa, spokesperson for the AU-UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

Several doctors working in the few functional hospitals in the country report an increase in cases of patients with loss of taste, breathing difficulties or fever. An official at the Abu Shouk refugee camp mentions 64 unexplained deaths while other camps in north Darfur would see mortality explode to 10-15 people per day against a usual rate of around 5 to 10 deaths per month. Many refugees and displaced people live in this area struck by civil war and bloody repression by the former authorities in Khartoum when President Omar el-Bechir was still in charge.

The increase in the number of deaths, in and outside of refugee camps, seems to be confirmed by numerous accounts. However, it is impossible to prove the link with the rapid spread of Covid-19 as the number of daily tests carried out is low in Sudan in general and, a fortiori , in the marginalized region of Darfur. Only 270 tests were carried out until recently by a single laboratory located in the capital, Khartoum. Now another test analysis center exists in Nyala, in South Darfur.

Finally, information circulates with difficulty since certain inhabitants see in the virus a ploy of the old power to "  keep people at home and come to kill them  ". And local authorities do not seem to want to elaborate on the subject of this rise in deaths observed in Darfur since two journalists were threatened and harassed by a soldier after having published an article addressing the question.

• UEMOA denies rumors of an upcoming border reopening

Despite the growing anger of the carriers, no date has yet been set for the reopening of the borders. The West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the ECOWAS are currently holding more meetings to harmonize policies in this area. But between the need to avoid the spread of the pandemic and economic needs, the current system does not move. Within WAEMU, for example, only basic necessities, food and medical products are authorized to cross borders.

• Canada, China, South Korea, France and the Netherlands to Sell Medical Equipment to Africa

This will take place within the framework of the continental platform announced by the African Union on Thursday 11 June. It will help the continent to benefit from a single purchasing space for the test kits, masks, respirators and other materials necessary for the fight against Covid-19. According to the South African presidency, at the head of the AU this year, China should offer 30 million test kits and 10,000 artificial respirators per month on this platform.

• Easing of measures in the Central African Republic

President Faustin-Archange Touadéra announced the easing of the rules enacted on March 26. Among these measures: the reopening of places of worship; the gradual reopening of educational establishments. The other important announcement concerns the compulsory wearing of masks in public places. CAR has seen a significant increase in the number of Covid-19 cases. It passed the 2,000 case mark this week (2,057 confirmed cases and 7 deaths for 363 healings).

• The Botswana capital once again completely confined

The decision was announced late Friday, June 12, and came into effect at midnight. No travel is possible without authorization to Gaborone and only "essential services" are provided, according to two Botswana officials. It is also forbidden to leave the big city. These draconian measures follow the discovery of twelve new cases of contamination with Covid-19 when the country had only one active case left. The previous confinement had lasted 48 days and was lifted by the authorities last month. Botswana's borders remain closed except to its nationals who wish to return to the country and to essential goods.

• In Eritrea, 24 new cases diagnosed in recent days 

According to a press release from the Minister of Information published Saturday evening, these are people who entered the country from Sudan . All have been quarantined and treated in the western region of the country, bordering Sudan. These cases are in addition to the two cases still active and bring the number of cases recorded in Eritrea to 65 . 39 were cured.

• In Côte d'Ivoire, Guillaume Soro's younger brother reaches Covid-19

Simon Soro was in detention in Abengourou, 200 km west of Abidjan when he tested positive. "  His condition is serious. He was coughing and had trouble breathing  ", according to former Minister Me Affoussiata Bamba Amine who defends Guillaume Soro, the big brother presidential candidate but exiled in France for the moment because prosecuted by the Ivorian justice for" attempted insurrection " "  There is the Covid in prison, it must be said,  " adds the lawyer, who makes the Ivorian state "  fully responsible for the deterioration in the state of health of Mr. Simon Soro  ".

• South African Deputy Minister of Prison Services tested positive for Covid-19

Nkosi Phathekile Holomisa has been placed in solitary confinement at his home and "is  taking all measures to fully recover  " according to the Pretoria government. South African prisons are an active source of circulation for the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus. 1,452 people in the prison service, including 921 prisoners and 531 employees, have so far contracted the disease, according to the latest official figures from Friday.

• Tunisia to end mandatory quarantine in hotels

As of Thursday, repatriated Tunisians will be able to enter the country by providing a Covid-19 negative test certificate of less than 72 hours. The principle of a quarantine of 14 days will remain but it can be done at home. Then, from Saturday, June 27, anyone can enter the country provided they do not have a fever and present proof of a negative test of less than 72 hours. Hotels in the tourist country will have to adapt to strict measures of social distancing: individual meals, distances between tables, minimum space per person in the pool, etc. Tunisia had 1,093 confirmed cases this Saturday for 49 deaths and 995 cures.

• Tourism in times of crisis: Morocco wants to attract national customers

Despite a partial lifting of the containment, the Moroccan authorities decided three days ago to extend the state of health emergency in the major tourist cities of the country. Deprived of foreign tourism, Morocco wants to seduce the national clientele and launches a communication campaign to "  make known to Moroccans all the richness and diversity  " of their territory.

• In Mbandaka, vigilance against Ebola and Covid-19

The port of the city located on the Congo river, in the DRC , is particularly watched according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The city of the province of Equateur is again the scene of an epidemic of Ebola hemorrhagic fever since June 1 last after a previous one in 2018. The personnel in charge of temperature controls of travelers is therefore very vigilant as explained this man in the video below.

At the entry point of the ONATRA port of #Mbandaka, a place of high mobility for travelers, vigilance & health control are essential for the early detection of suspected #Ebola or # COVID19 cases. Crispin Malanga, public health officer, explains how he does it pic.twitter.com/krd0o6o8Ei

• For the UN, the "persistence of armed conflicts" in Central Africa undermines the fight against the virus

This is regretted by the Special Representative for Central Africa and head of the United Nations regional office for Central Africa (UNOCA). According to François Louncény Fall, the request for a world cease-fire made solemnly on March 23 by the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres has not been followed up. Attacks on hospitals, against civilians, "  terrorist and armed groups have continued to destabilize the sub-region  ".

• Street fumigation in kenya

Technicians from the Ministry of Health disinfected certain public spaces in the capital's county of Nairobi this Saturday. The Kenya has 3 457 cases to 100 deaths and 1,221 cures. Friday, during a virtual meeting of the African Union office,  President Uhuru Kenyatta urged his peers to capitalize on the potential of African youth and in particular their dynamism and their capacity to innovate both in the current period of fight against the pandemic but also when it comes to reviving bloodless economies.

Fumigation of public places in Nairobi county is underway by @MOH_Kenya public health team to contain the spread of # COVID19 #KomeshaCorona update. pic.twitter.com/QjqQDzdNIR

Also in Kenya, the funeral of a popular singer turned into a riot on Friday in Kisumu, in the west of the country. Bernard Obonyo, by his stage name Abenny Jachiga, succumbed to Covid-19. According to the rules in force, his body should therefore have been carried in the ground with five people maximum and within 24 hours of his death. A lack of respect according to his fans and his family. Hundreds of people therefore came to recover the body while the police fired tear gas. The crowd still managed to extract the deceased from his grave and bring his body back to the morgue. Bernard Obonyo's family requests a week to organize a funeral in what they deem to be good conditions.

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
→  Triple therapy, Discovery… update on research
→  Remdesivir, antibodies and immunity
→  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?

• 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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