Cameroon now has a total of 246 coronavirus cases. According to official figures from the ministry of public health, the country has recorded 13 new cases, 6 deaths and 10 recoveries so far. Officials have insisted on basic hygiene as the most effective way to limit the fast spreading virus.
The director of the Bafoussam regional hospital has said social media information that a COVID 19 patient escaped from the hospital’s isolation centre to an unknown destination is fake. The information had created panic among inhabitants of the West regional Chief town. In a communique, Dr Enow George said no COVID 19 patient carried the name Flavie Tchagam is in his health establishment, and went further to say six coronavirus cases were confirmed in Bafoussam, and are being treated in an isolation centre.
The doors of the Douala Central market, the Nkoulouloun Market, Marche des Femme and the Non Glacier market will be closed through out Thursday 2nd April 2020 for sensitization. This follows a decision of the mayor of the Douala II subdivision Denis Fampou who says the measure is in relay of the government’s fight against COVID 19. The markets will be opened only for sanitation workers of the Douala II Council.
The Governor of the South West region has banned drinking and eating in public places or sales points. In an order signed in Buea April 1st 2020, Bernard Okalia Bilai says drinking in offlicences, snacks, night clubs and eating in restaurants are prohibited through out the region. He said those who wish to buy in drinking spots and restaurants, should take them home.
The Senior Divisional officer for Donga Mantung has called on the population to respect the measures taken by government to prevent the spread of the Corona virus or face the law. Dr Simon Nkwenti Ndoh was speaking to the population of Nkambe on a public square to square sensitization campaign. During the sensitization campaign he stressed on the proper use of hand sanitizers and taught the population on how to prepare it locally. He equally stressed on social distancing in the public and at home.
The Governor of the South West region has promised to arrest parents who are sending their children for commercial motives to the Streets or to the markets. Benard Okalia bilai made the decision Tuesday march 31st 2020, during a crisis meeting in his office.
Farmers and business persons in Loum in the Moungo Division of the Littoral region are furious over what they say is government’s valorisation of imported products, to the detriment of locally made goods. They think that the policy of the government has made Cameroonians to be more vulnerable, amidst the Anglophone crisis and the COVID 19 pandemic. The impact according to the traders and famers is manifested in the low purchasing power of citizens.
Cameroon business magnet Baba Danpullo has donated the sum of 100 million Francs cfa to the government of Cameroon to fight against coronavirus. The money was handed over to the minister of public health today. Most Cameroonians continue to criticise the 1 billion anti coronavirus special solidarity fund saying it will do little or nothing in tackling the virus.
The circulation of fake chloroquine in Cameroon is on the rise. Some pharmacies in Douala and Yaounde are said to be selling fake chloroquine to Cameroonians who believe that that it cures coronavirus. Medical practitioners say chloroquine does to cure the virus.
Measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus are being kicked against in markets in Douala. At Mabanda market at Douala 4 municipality, traders say they no longer have a specific time table to carry out their business activities. For example, they say they were stopped from trading yesterday Monday by the council.
A pan-African infrastructure and logistics solutions company has donated an assortment of equipment to four African countries aimed at fighting the coronavirus. Arise, which is based in Libreville, Gabon donated 7m masks, 143,000 sets of protective clothing and 230,000 boxes of disinfectant gel to Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo and Mauritania.
Nigeria has begun handing out four months’ worth of welfare payments upfront in three areas of the oil-rich country that have been placed into lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus. Beneficiaries of the social security scheme, introduced by President Muhammadu Buhari two years ago, usually receive a monthly payment of $13 (£10).
Algeria has become the latest country in Africa to release some of its prisoners in response to the coronavirus outbreak. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has pardoned close to 5,000 detainees who have 18 months or less to serve of their sentences. Ethiopia has also freed thousands from prisons.
The authorities in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, have banned swimming at the popular Lido beach in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus. Hotels and restaurants operating there have also been ordered to enforce hygiene measures to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.
South Africa’s Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has warned against a conspiracy theory that links coronavirus to 5G technology. Dr Mkhize in a tweet said: “5G is a technology issue and Covid is a virus. You cannot link the virus to technology.”
The Kenyan government has approved the use of one of the oldest anti-malarial drugs to treat the coronavirus, according to Citizen TV. But it will only be given to critical patients, Health Director General Patrick Amoth is quoted as saying. Dr Amoth said at the moment there were no critical cases to warrant such an intervention. Most cases are mild and the authorities are treating the symptoms for now, he is quoted as saying.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has apologised to the public after reports of police brutality as officers implemented a curfew to curb the spread of coronavirus. “I want to apologise to all Kenyans, maybe for some excesses which were conducted or happened,” Mr Kenyatta said in a broadcast shared by Citizen TV.
Burundi and Sierra Leone, which were part of a handful of African countries yet to confirm cases of the coronavirus, have recorded their first positive results. There had been doubts over Burundi’s claim that no-one in the country had coronavirus. The president’s spokesperson said the nation was an exception because it put “God first”. Health Minister Thadée Ndikumana announced on Tuesday that two nationals had tested positive for the virus after travelling from Rwanda and Dubai.
A group of wealthy creditor countries known as the Paris Club has agreed to cancel $1.4bn (£1.1bn) of debt owed by Somalia. The decision should enable the country to seek new sources of finance to help it recover from three decades of ongoing civil conflict.
