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Congolese authorities said on Sunday that the coronavirus epidemic had eased in many parts of the country but remained worrying in the economic capital of Lubumbashi where not wearing a mask will now be punishable by up to seven days in prison.
Health Minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani said there had been “a marked drop in Covid-19 cases across the country,” according to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office.
In Kinshasa, the situation was particularly encouraging.
“The third wave is steadily decreasing and we can say that it is behind us,” Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, in charge of the fight against the pandemic, told reporters.
“But we must be vigilant, continue to wear the mask correctly and get vaccinated when the country receives the vaccines we expect.”
Lubumbashi is however experiencing a “resurgence of the pandemic”, its mayor Ghislain Robert Lubaba Buluma said on Saturday in a decree announcing new preventive measures.
People would have to wear masks to access the city center, and “checkpoints” would be put in place from Monday to ensure the measure was followed.
Anyone not wearing a mask “will be sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 Congolese francs”, or around 6 euros, the decree specifies.
The coronavirus has infected 51,254 people in the DRC, with 1,045 deaths, according to an AFP count from official sources.
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