Health Minister warns against COVID-19 resurgence as pilgrims return from Mecca

Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health, Dr. Manaouda Malachi, has called for vigilance against a possible resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The Minister sounded the alarm bell on Wednesday, June 26, after several cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in some African countries. The cases were attributed to the return of Muslim pilgrims from the Hajj in Mecca.

Over 3,000 pilgrims from Cameroon were part of the religious sojourn that ended last week.

“The Minister of Public Health, Dr. Malachie Manaouda, informs the public of the occurrence of numerous cases of COVID-19 in some African countries among the delegations of pilgrims returning from the 2024 Hajj,” said Dr Manaouda in a press release.

To prevent and control a possible outbreak of the virus in the country, the Minister ordered for preventive measures at the airport as the pilgrims are returning to the country.

The preventive measures reminiscent of the deadly era of COVID-19 include, “the effective completion of identification forms for all travellers disembarking at international airports, the systematic testing of suspected cases, voluntary screening of travellers at the airport and the systematic screening of suspected cases of COVID-19 in the emergency.”

The Minister also reiterated “the free treatment for positive cases.”

The first batch of Cameroonian pilgrims arrived at the Garoua International Airport in the North Region on Wednesday.

Calling on the population to be more vigilant, Minister Manaouda Malachi recommended the resumption and strengthening of “systematic wearing of a mask in the event of flu symptoms, respect for physical distancing, hand hygiene and regular disinfection of public areas.”

“The Government reassures the population of the current capacity of its system to quickly detect all cases and their optimal management throughout the country,” the Minister assured.

It should be recalled that COVID-19 broke out in 2019 in the Chinese Province of Wuhan. It quickly spread to other countries and became a pandemic, killing millions of people across the world.

However, in June 2023, the world Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the deadly virus stating, “It was no longer a public health emergency”.

©Mimi Mefo Info