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Coronavirus: Senegal unable to repatriate its students stranded in Wuhan

2020-02-06T16:14:24.441Z


President Macky Sall deemed the repatriation of a dozen students trapped in the Chinese cradle of the epidemic "out of reach" for his country. Their parents are mobilizing against this decision.


Twelve Senegalese students who are currently confined to Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, have appealed to the Dakar authorities to organize their return. But President Macky Sall announced his decision on Monday to oppose the return of the students, saying that the question of repatriation was "not simple" and that Senegal " did not have the means" to bring them back. and take care of them safely.

"Coronavirus: in the Kafkaesque hell of a hospital in Wuhan

“Even the large countries that have been able to repatriate have done so with great difficulty. This requires logistics entirely out of Senegal's reach. We need special planes that can go there, we need personnel, they are not airlines (but) military (aircraft), " said the head of state on the radio. "When these people return, we must be able to quarantine them in a place equipped accordingly, which is not yet the case for our country and African countries."

President Sall's statement was controversial, particularly on social networks where many Senegalese joined the parents of the students to contest this decision, like Momar Dieng, editorial writer for impact.sn, a Senegalese news site, who wonders: “Mr. President, what if your son was in Wuhan?” and denounces a “scandalous and irresponsible declaration” against “these unfortunate compatriots”.

"Senegal does have the resources"

To help their children, their families gathered in a "collective of parents of students stranded in Wuhan" and held a press conference in Dakar on Wednesday to respond to controversial statements by President Sall and to ask for the "immediate" repatriation of the twelve students. According to the collective, the students are "so far healthy" but their parents fear that one of them will contract the virus.

“Our children demand a minimum, their right to be rescued by their motherland, protested Yoro Bâ, whose son is one of the students trapped in Wuhan, during this press conference. Our children want their immediate exfiltration. Countries like Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia have done diligence to repatriate their compatriots, Senegal does have the friendly, diplomatic, human, logistical and financial resources to carry out the repatriation " added this father who expects a quick response authorities.

This controversy raises many questions at a time when Senegal, proud of its Pasteur Institute in Dakar, was designated to receive weekend experts from 15 countries on the continent to prepare them to deal with the virus. The paradox is all the greater since Senegal is no stranger to this type of situation: during the Ebola epidemic, it was one of the countries that had best managed this health crisis.

More than 500 people have died and 24,000 have been infected with the coronavirus, mostly in mainland China, and it has spread to more than 20 countries. Africa has been spared for the time being, but the governments of the continent have stepped up preventive measures, particularly in ports and airports.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-02-06

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