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Coronavirus: first contamination within the “Barkhane” operation

2020-04-02T18:45:39.854Z


Four officers who have been "for several weeks" in the Sahel have tested positive for coronavirus.


Operation Barkhane has its first infected. After having minimized the risk since the beginning of the crisis, the staff admitted Thursday to AFP that four officers deployed in the Sahel had tested positive for the new coronavirus. "One of the patients is taken care of and treated on the spot and three others have already been repatriated" to France, "as well as another symptomatic officer without having been tested," said the spokesman of the staff, Colonel Frédéric Barbry. With his 5100 men, Barkhane fights against the terrorist groups which prevail in the Sahel.

Read also: While waiting for “Takuba”, “Barkhane” continues its operations in the Sahel

The army has not yet revealed the source of the contamination. But these four "asymptomatic" men had been "for several weeks in the Sahelo-Saharan strip". Given the incubation period, they could therefore have been infected on the spot. But information on the spread of the virus, particularly within the Malian army, is patchy in Mali. Within the general staff, we were officially unaware of any cases or specific precautions taken by the Malian Armed Forces.

Discrete for obvious tactical reasons, the army did not give any information on the profile of the patients: in which places they had been deployed, to which regiment they belonged ... To counter the spread of the coronavirus within Barkhane bases , the general staff intended to follow, according to the initial plan, a “phase one” strategy, it was explained a few weeks ago. As in mainland France at the start of the epidemic, the objective is to trace the path of contamination and identify all the "contacts" to avoid dissemination. To optimize treatment, screening machines were sent to the site. The “barrier” gestures are applied very strictly, it is insisted.

Soldiers can spread the epidemic

In the meantime, the staff is formal: the appearance of the coronavirus within the forces does not yet hamper Barkhane's ability to conduct its operations. "These cases of contamination, as well as the measures taken to preserve the staff, have no impact on the operations, which are continuing at a sustained pace," assured Colonel Barbry.

At the start of the epidemic crisis, we also wanted to believe within the department that the coronavirus would have little effect on the conduct of operations. Young and physically healthy, soldiers are unlikely to develop severe forms of the disease. But they can spread the epidemic in Africa.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-04-02

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