Haiti: state of health emergency declared after an increase in Covid-19 cases
A street in the city of Port-au-Prince on April 12, 2021 (Illustrative image).
AFP - VALERIE BAERISWYL
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Until then relatively spared by the coronavirus epidemic, Haiti has recorded a rapid increase in cases, a week after the detection in the country of the English and Brazilian variants.
Wanting to reduce the risk of contamination, the authorities have once again made the wearing of masks compulsory in public places and require hand washing points in all buildings across the country.
Publicity
Read more
With our correspondent in Port-au-Prince,
Amélie Baron
Since March 2020, Haiti had officially registered only
250 deaths due to Covid-19
.
But 15 fatal cases have been recorded in the last 72 hours so the government has declared a state of health emergency, for only eight days.
Marie-Greta Roy Clément, Minister of Health explains the choice of this short period of state of emergency: “
Why an order for another eight days?
We did not want to panic the population by taking drastic measures.
This decree is more of a reinforcement of barrier measures.
We noted that people were no longer wearing masks.
We now ask them to put it on and, to reduce the movement of people and the crowds, we are establishing a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Probably, this decree will be renewed if there is not a drop in the figures, and this, for a longer period with much more drastic measures.
"
For now, in the streets and public transport yet crowded in the capital on Monday, few people still wear masks.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Haiti
Coronavirus
Health and medicine