Covid-19 in the DRC: concern mounts before the establishment of the national curfew
Kinshasa has closed the district of its main market to stem the coronavirus epidemic.
Here, a soldier guards the entrance to the La Gombe district in Kinshasa on April 6, 2020. Bienvenu-Marie Bakumanya / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
While the Democratic Republic of the Congo is suffering a second wave of Covid-19, the country will experience its first national curfew this Friday, December 18 in the evening.
It will start at 9 p.m. and last until 5 a.m.
Traffic during the curfew will be subject to special authorization from the provincial authority, with the exception of people in health emergency situations.
This decision will affect many Congolese and many are worried.
Publicity
Read more
With our correspondent in Kinshasa,
Sébastien Németh
Karaoke atmosphere at the Michelet bar-restaurant, in the town of Limété.
The staff waits for customers but worries.
Because this Friday evening, the establishment will have to close much earlier than expected.
“
In the evening, I have a lot of customers who come to eat, drink ... We are very disappointed.
It doesn't do us good.
If the curfew is to go on too long, we will run out of customers.
And the money, there won't be any ...
”, confides Léonard Liloko, one of the employees of the bar-restaurant.
► Read also: Curfew in the DRC: reduce traffic to reduce the spread of Covid-19
No end date for this curfew yet
The curfew
will stop activity for long hours.
The argument also applies to the transport sector.
Eric Kabambi, taxi driver, does not hide his apprehension.
“
9 pm is a shortfall for us.
Generally, in Kinshasa, it is at these times that people leave a little bonus.
Most people come home from work.
(...) Why confine us only to late hours?
For me, there may be eel under the rock.
There is something that is hidden from us
, ”he explains.
Even those who work during the day will be penalized.
Yusuf Kaa is a painter.
He lives far away and it sometimes takes several hours to get home at night.
So the curfew does not help him at all.
“
It's going to cripple so many activities.
We are among the most withdrawn.
We don't have the right transportation and things.
We don't refuse, we accept, but let them think carefully about the timing!
», He laments.
The curfew has an unlimited duration.
The Congolese therefore do not know how long they will have to suffer from the shortfall.
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Curfew in the DRC: reduce traffic to reduce the spread of Covid-19