Mauritania announced this Sunday, December 13, to re-establish a night curfew in the face of the progression of the Covid-19, which threatens to saturate the hospitals of this poor country with limited health resources.
The collective Friday prayer is also suspended in mosques until further notice, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs said in a statement.
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The curfew, imposed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., comes into effect this Sunday, due to a
"worrying increase in cases of coronavirus contamination and the deaths it has caused, and in strengthening of the barrier measures that are currently the best weapons we have, ”
explained the presidency.
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After a decline, Mauritania has recently experienced, like other African countries, a significant increase in the number of contaminations: 7 deaths and 279 additional cases on Saturday.
Mauritania has officially declared more than 10,000 cases and 222 deaths since the appearance of the virus at the end of March 2020, for a population of around 4 million.
Hospitals "approaching saturation"
The director of public health Sidi Ould Zehave said on Saturday that hospitals
"are approaching saturation"
and that 60% of medical personnel are requisitioned in health centers.
For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, expressed to foreign diplomats his
"concern about the development of cases"
and asked for help, the Mauritanian Information Agency reported on Sunday. national press.
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Mauritania had already announced in early December the closure of schools and universities as well as the ban on public ceremonies.
The closure of educational establishments, initially scheduled for two weeks, is extended until January 4, the Ministry of Education announced.
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The curfew was part of the stringent measures taken after the first confirmed case of Covid-19, with the closure of borders, schools and markets, and the ban on gatherings, collective prayers and movement between regions.
These provisions have since been lifted, including the curfew in July.