Coronavirus situation in Cameroon ⁰

The country’s coronavirus cases officially stand at 91. The situation is concerning as things are spiraling out of control. The government has taken a few good measures, but they are unfortunately ineffective.

The government wants to recruit over 500 health workers to combat the Coronavirus which is spreading at an alarming rate.

Cameroonians are still converging on public places and public transport means cannot really be controlled.

The nature of the country’s economy is also an additional headache. The informal sector is bigger than the formal sector and this implies more people hustle to make ends meet.

They are therefore flouting government Coronavirus rules, as they live from hand to mouth.

Meanwhile, the country’s opposition leader, Prof. Maurice Kamto, is challenging the country’s president, Paul Biya, to address the nation as COVID-19 threatens to ruin the economy and send thousands to an early grave.

Early this week, it was rumored that the country’s president had died since he had not been seen in public ever since the Coronavirus showed up on the country’s shores.

The country’s communications minister, Rene Sadi, held a press conference on Friday wherein he informed the public that the president was alive and healthy.

He added that Mr. Biya was closely monitoring the evolution of the virus in the country, but critics still feel that the government is hiding something and many are calling on Mr. Biya to address the nation.

Also, business will resume tomorrow in the Douala II markets after a shutdown on Friday due to a massive disinfection by City Hall.

Similarly,   a medical team has been dispatched from Yaoundé to screen over 200 passengers in Douala. This is to help check the spread of the insidious virus.

Also, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the government of Cameroon to decongest prisons as a move to check the spread of the virus.

Cameroon’s prisons are noted for their congestion and it is feared that if the virus makes its way to the prisons, the prison population will be rapidly decimated as Cameroon has not got the resources to deal with such a disaster.

By Rita Akana with additional reporting and editing from Dr Joachim Arrey