Maghreb Edition

Sahel: Chad locks down its capital to confront Covid-19F

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Posted On 7 May 2020

Number of times this article was read : 1487

N’Djamena, May 6, 2020 – Chad’s capital N’Djamena will be isolated from the rest of the country for two weeks from Friday to stem the spread of coronavirus, the government announced. The central African nation, one of the world’s poorest, has recorded 117 coronavirus and 10 deaths, according to an official count on Tuesday. The vast majority of these cases — 115 — were diagnosed in the capital, the health ministry said.

“The entry and exit of people in the city of N’Djamena is banned for a period of two weeks” from May 8, the government said in a decree on Wednesday. Only “vehicles transporting goods and food” are authorised to enter the city, the decree added. Inside the city, travel will be allowed until 8:00pm and wearing a mask will be mandatory from Thursday. Chad, where half of the 16 million population live in poverty, also faces a measles outbreak, with 25,500 suspected cases and 255 deaths recorded between January and November last year.

AFP

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