[ad_1]
The West African state of Côte d’Ivoire reported on Friday that 17 people had died from the coronavirus in 10 days, with the trend raising fears of an “explosion” of the disease.
The country has recorded 30,526 cases of Covid-19, of which 171 have been fatal – 17 from February 1 to 11, the health ministry said.
“The rebound of the epidemic is characterized by an active circulation (of the virus) in the community, which raises fears of an explosion”, declared the Minister of Health Eugène Aka Aouele during a press conference.
He said there was “strong suspicion” that the UK variant of the virus, which is more contagious than the original strain of the Covid pandemic, was spreading.
He called on the public to redouble their efforts to keep the virus at bay by increasing social distancing measures, conducting tests in schools, limiting movement and avoiding gatherings.
Unlike other African countries, Côte d’Ivoire does not have a lockdown or curfew, and wearing a mask is only required in closed public spaces.
Shops, restaurants, bars and nightclubs are open.
The country says it will begin vaccination in mid-February despite a delay in deliveries of the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which were due to arrive in late January.
The Gabonese state in central West Africa, meanwhile, announced on Friday that it would ban people from moving between the capital Libreville and out-of-province provinces in order to fight a “significant and worrying increase” in coronavirus cases since December.
He also said he was bringing the start of his nighttime curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Gabon, a country of less than two million inhabitants, has recorded 12,171 cases, including 71 fatalities.
Source link
