Covid-19 in Senegal: a new curfew implemented in the regions of Dakar and Thiès
Students in front of Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar.
No details have yet been given on the measures concerning schools and universities.
© AFP / JOHN WESSELS
Text by: RFI Follow
5 mins
In Senegal, the return of the state of emergency in the face of the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This only concerns the regions of Dakar and Thiès.
A curfew is in place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. this evening.
Announcements by President Macky Sall on Tuesday January 5.
And new provisions are expected on January 6, 2021.
Publicity
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With our correspondent in Dakar,
Charlotte Idrac
"
The hour is serious
" said the Head of State, after a very long meeting of 5 hours, Tuesday January 5 with the national committee of management of the epidemics.
The curfew put in place will therefore be partial, it must be said that the regions of Dakar, the capital and Thiès concentrate 90% of positive cases according to the authorities.
The president underlined the "
relaxation
"
observed in recent weeks
in the respect of barrier measures.
So he tightens the screw.
The curfew goes into effect tonight
The situation is serious.
Faced with the relaxation that everyone has observed in respect of barrier gestures and the correct wearing of the mask and on the other hand, the resurgence of community cases, severe cases, serious cases and deaths, I have thus, following the recommendations of the medical profession, decided to declare a state of emergency in two regions.
Macky Sall announces second curfew to fight Covid-19
This is the second time that Senegal has declared a state of emergency since the start of the pandemic: the one announced last March had been lifted at the end of June.
After a decline in recent months, the Ministry of Health had noted a stabilization of the situation, but in December, backtracking.
The numbers started to rise again.
Measures to be specified
The authorities have increased the number of warnings in recent weeks.
This was not enough to reverse the trend for the Minister of Health, these new measures are necessary to avoid the saturation of the health system, and a situation "
impossible to control
".
These announcements must now be specified by the various ministries.
And the Senegalese are asking themselves many questions, very practical since this morning: what about transport?
Travel?
Will there be exemptions for certain professions?
The more detailed measures that should be decided today in the Council of Ministers.
192 new cases
Regarding the duration that this curfew could have, the Minister of the Interior recalled the legal duration, of 12 days, but which can be extended with the authorization of the Assembly.
Everything will depend in fact on the evolution of the health situation.
Senegal registers 192 new cases this Wednesday.
As a reminder, after 3 months during the first state of emergency, demonstrations of ras-le-bol had shaken several cities in the country.
No new announcements have been made regarding schools and universities, which are functioning.
The Head of State also indicated that health controls at the borders will be strengthened.
It also asks the epidemic management committee to submit a vaccination strategy to it, in order to target medical personnel as a priority.
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Macky Sall
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