After several countries in Europe and Latin America in particular, Africa, the poorest continent on the planet, is gradually adopting containment, a measure intended to save lives but which paralyzes the economy. While Africa has so far been relatively spared from the pandemic compared to the rest of the world, the very great weakness of health services in African countries raises fears that the pandemic may be devastating.
Read also: LIVE - Coronavirus: 186 new deaths in France, 8,675 people are hospitalized
It is to avoid the continent becoming the new epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic that several African leaders have taken drastic measures, in an unfavorable material and cultural context. Already in force in Tunisia, Rwanda and Mauritius, containment was imposed on Monday, March 23, in South Africa and in Lubumbashi, the economic capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in the two main cities of Madagascar, the capital Antananarivo and Toamasina.
The army deployed in South Africa
This Monday evening, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa thus imposed a strict confinement of three weeks in his country, the most affected by the coronavirus epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. This measure aims to prevent a " human catastrophe of enormous proportions ", he explained during a televised speech. A total of 402 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed so far in South Africa, a number " multiplied by six in just eight days, " said the head of state. To enforce this total containment, President Ramaphosa decided to resort to the army. And as of this Monday afternoon, soldiers were deployed in the economic capital Johannesburg.
In Senegal, where 67 cases have been declared, President Macky Sall has declared a " state of emergency " throughout the national territory as of Monday at midnight, with a curfew of 8 pm to 6 am, while the coronavirus is " gaining ground " in several regions of this West African country. " I tell you with solemnity, the hour is serious. The speed of progression of the disease requires us to raise the level of the response, "said the head of state in an address to the nation broadcast by national television.
Read also: Coronavirus: can Africa cope with an epidemic?
Also in West Africa, the state of emergency, a curfew and a progressive containment of the populations were decreed in Côte d'Ivoire by President Alassane Ouattara, during a televised speech. " Faced with the progression of the pandemic (...), I declare a state of emergency throughout the territory (...), the establishment of a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the morning from March 24 (...), the progressive containment of populations by geographic area according to the evolution of the pandemic .
Total or partial containment
A total of 1628 cases including 50 deaths have been reported on the continent, against more than 340,000 cases of infection and 15,100 deaths on the planet. In sub-Saharan Africa, 875 cases, including 11 fatal, according to a last AFP report at 5 p.m. based on official declarations. The first death was recorded on Monday in Nigeria (36 officially recorded cases), the most populous country in Africa, and in Zimbabwe.
Read also: Coronavirus: Africa, a continent that seems strangely spared
In Burkina Faso - 24 new cases for a total of 99 - the authorities " increasingly envisage total containment of populations over a period of two to three weeks ", according to a security source. In Central Africa, President of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba announced partial confinement from 7:30 p.m. to 6 a.m., which started on Sunday. In neighboring Cameroon (56 officially declared cases), " we hope not to achieve containment of the whole country, " said Health Minister Dr Malachie Manaouda on Sunday evening. Internet users claim it however. Rwanda (17 reported cases) prohibited on Saturday evening " non-essential displacement ".
Since Friday, the 1.3 million inhabitants of Mauritius, located about 1,800 km off the east coast of Africa, must also remain confined to their homes for 14 days. Without still being in containment, Nigeria is trying to enforce the measures already in force, starting with the ban on assemblies. " Disperse and go home." For your own good. Don't come back tomorrow, ”police shouted on Sunday, dispersing sportspeople and street vendors stationed outside the Surulere National Stadium, a working-class neighborhood in central Lagos.
The second most populous country on the continent (100 million inhabitants, 11 officially declared cases), Ethiopia announced in turn this Monday the closure of its land borders.
Risk for the most deprived
" In reality partial or total confinement risks having disastrous effects for the African continent ", worries the Cameroonian writer Calixthe Beyala, on her Facebook page. " The poorest populations will be the first victims, they will starve or at least their organism weakened by malnutrition will make them fragile in the face of the virus, " she said. " Emergency strategies must be found for Africa that better meet the needs of our peoples, " she concludes.
Read also: Africa, Asia, Russia: those countries that claim to escape the coronavirus
