Panic grips Douala neighborhood after man dies of coronavirus

There is said to be fear among residents of Songmounda quarter in Ngodi, Douala due to the demise of a resident from the deadly coronavirus.

The victim whose name we got as Marius lived at La rue des Prince, reportedly passed away Saturday morning at the Laquintinie hospital in Douala. He was buried almost immediately, Mimi Mefo Info has learned

“Till now, we cannot tell if family has no infected persons. The hospital allowed his spouse return alone and she’s home” says a neighbor, but expressed worries that the victim’s home “has not been disinfected”. All calls placed to the hotlines for coronavirus demanding for intervention have unfortunately yielded no results.

“It is our neighbour and the entire neighborhood is in panic. We called 1015 and have tried the best we can but no one is listening to us” he laments, as he called out to health authorities.

The fears have heightened as health authorities show no concern over the situation that is putting thousands of lives at risk.

“We are in panic. His wife and kids are home and many people keep arriving” he says, fearing the contamination chain will continue to extend.

“I have written a tweet on the page of minister Manaouda Malachie. I hope he will listen to us and get a solution for us” he adds.

Many others have raised similar worries on the attitude of health workers towards COVID-19 patients as well as the slow response from those at the COVID-19 call centers.

Cameroon now has over 820 coronavirus cases and more than 10 deaths. Government has stopped releasing daily figures to the public due what it describes as “avoiding panic” among citizens who were worried over increasing number of infected patients in the West African Nation.

Mimi Mefo Info