Coronavirus: relaxation of barrier gestures in Madagascar
Audio 01:31
In the Analakely market, social distancing and wearing a mask are struggling to be respected.
RFI / Laetitia Bezain
Text by: Laetitia Bezain Follow
4 min
Barrier gestures are less and less respected by the inhabitants of the island, especially in the Malagasy capital, Antananarivo.
Since the announcement of deconfinement and the gradual resumption of daily activities, Tananarivans seem to have lowered their vigilance in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
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From our correspondent in Antananarivo,
In the district of Fort-Voyron, on the heights of Antananarivo, they are a group of ten young people to discuss.
Wearing a mask and social distancing have been forgotten.
Among them, Fenitra, student: “
We know that we should be further away from each other, but you see what we are doing, we stay side by side when we speak to avoid the postilions.
I wear my mask sometimes, but not as much as before because the number of Covid-19 cases has dropped.
"
Lots of carelessness
A few kilometers away, in the heart of the capital, Vola is patient to
take the taxi-be
, a minibus that provides public transport.
To avoid contamination, the number of passengers is limited to 18. “
In the bus, the measures are not respected because the receivers are in a hurry to have their money.
And people are also in a hurry to go up and stick to each other.
I'm scared, but less than before, adds Vola.
We are living with the coronavirus.
"
Nandrianina, a t-shirt seller at the Analakely market, has also dropped her mask, despite the comings and goings of customers on her stand: “
We cannot ask people to respect the measures on the market because there are some who put on their masks, others not.
Some put it just under the chin.
Impossible to respect the distance of one meter.
It's every man for himself here.
"
►Also read: Madagascar: aid to support populations weakened by the Covid crisis
Faced with this carelessness, the authorities are trying to call the inhabitants to order.
“
In general, we have noticed that there is a relaxation of barrier gestures, especially with regard to wearing a mask, because people think that the pandemic has already passed.
I would like to reiterate to the inhabitants of Antananarivo that the virus is still circulating until now and the war against Covid-19 is far from over,
”explains the prefect of the capital, Angelo Ravelonarivo.
Failure to comply with wearing a mask is punishable by community service, he says.
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Madagascar
Coronavirus
Health and medicine
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