Cameroon continues to witness a drastic increase in the number of positive cases for the Covid-19 coronavirus. According to the Minister of Public Health Dr Manaouda Malachie, the number of confirmed cases at the moment has risen to five persons, up from the two cases recorded last week.
In a tweet from the Minister, the fifth person is a lady who returned from France. She has been immediately put under quarantine according to the Minister.
Meanwhile, the fourth suspected case entered the country through Yaounde’s Nsimalen airport, Dr Manaouda Malachie, Minister of Public Health noted.
The Minister has called on Cameroonians to continue mobilizing while observing precise hygiene measures. “But it is good for the population to continue to strictly adhere to security rules, and not give in to panic. Above all, if someone feels sick, and suspects it could be the Coronavirus, they should not go to the hospital, but call 1510. Health workers will pick him up from their residence because not every health personnel can take care of a Coronavirus patient,” Public Health Minister, Manaouda Malachie.
In a press release, the Minister of Public Health has called on passengers of Air France Flight N. AF900 and SN Brussels Flight No. 371 that landed at Yaounde Nsimalen international airport on 7 March 2020 and 14 March 2020 to call on various numbers that have been put in place. He has equally urged them to quarantine themselves for 14 days, and to limit contact with their loved ones.
In the wake of the new cases, the Prime Minister Head of Government Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute has called on government officials not to undertake any foreign trip in a bit to stop the spread. The Chiefs of missions at various diplomatic centers have been giving the task to carry out Cameroon’s diplomatic missions abroad.
Strict measures have been implemented in most Africa countries, and in the world with many shutting their borders. Cameroon is yet to implement such measures with flights entering and departing the country.
It should be recalled that the first case of the virus was detected in Cameroon on March 6 with a 58-year-old French man who tested positive having arrived Cameroon on February 24. The second case is a patient who was in close link with the first who came from France.
The coronavirus was confirmed in the Chinese city, of Wuhan on January 7, 2020 with cases confirmed in over 80 countries across the globe since then. The WHO has since declared it as a pandemic.
Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this coronavirus,” Dr Tedros Ghebereyesus said. “It does not change what WHO is doing, and it does not change what countries should do.”
“In the past two weeks, the number of cases of Covid-19 outside China has increased 13-fold and the number of affected countries have tripled,” said Dr Tedros. “There are now more than 118,000 in 114 countries, with 4,291 deaths. Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals.”
“In the days, and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of Covid-19 cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries to climb even higher,” He warned.
Almost all Africa countries have publicly put in place strict screening at points of entry, especially airports. Cases of the coronavirus have been detected in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal and Nigeria.
The deadly coronavirus is causing chaos in the sporting scene with Europe’s top major competition being postponed till April. The effects may be felt in some major sporting activities Cameroon is scheduled to host.
The country is at the moment preparing to host the Africa Nations Championship, CHAN in April, while also preparing for the May 2020 final of the CAF Champions League final.
At the moment, preparations are going unperturbed but the likelihood of Cameroon hosting the competition (CHAN 2020) at the said date looks very much uncertain. Defending champions Morocco has pulled is amongst two countries that have pulled out of the competition for local based players due to the Coronavirus.
