Burundi Updates: Covid-19, Cybercrime, and a USD 173 million Airport expansion project
RegionWeek Newsletter Vol VI, Issue #194 | Tuesday, January 4th, 2022
This is RegionWeek Newsletter, the content targets Business leaders, Decision-makers, and Young professionals with interests in Burundi and East Africa. Subscribe to stay productive, and competitive in a pandemic and disrupted season.
Dear Readers,
I hope you have had an amazing time celebrating the new year. As you hit the ground this week, for a fresh start, in today’s issue we cover the covid-19 situation in Burundi and the key headlines that caught our attention. Welcome!
This Monday Burundi primary and secondary schools started the second term. Teachers and students in boarding are required to do Covid-19 tests. In a press conference this Monday, the Minister of Health Dr. Sylvie NZEYIMANA said that till January 4th students, teachers, and support staff of boarding schools must be screened and present the certificate of negativity at the entrance of the school.
Burundi has so far reported an average of 502 new cases detected in the internal population per day since December 13, 2021, the date of the start of the current strong outbreak.
Among the 1,065 new cases detected on December 30 and 31, 2021, there are 1,038 cases of community transmission and 27 imported cases: 10 cases at the point of entry with DR Congo, 6 cases at the point of entry with Tanzania, and 11 cases at the airport.
During the last 14 days, there has been a total of 8,512 new community cases, including 22.76% (1938 cases) detected in the city of Bujumbura. The number of tests performed in the last 2 weeks has increased with a daily average of 14,042 tests while the average number per day was 4,223 tests in the previous 2 weeks, an increase of 235.17%.
The average weekly screening rate over the past 4 weeks is 44.9 tests per 10,000 inhabitants while this average rate over the previous 4 weeks was 9.4 tests per 10,000 inhabitants.
The World Bank Group recently approved US$60 million in additional funding for the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project in Burundi to help the Government prevent, detect, and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and to strengthen the national public health system in Burundi.
This additional funding, which will cover the entire country, will also facilitate the purchase of COVID-19 screening tests, the management and referral of patients— including medicines, oxygen, ambulances, and other critical health supplies— and the purchase of laboratory equipment and personal protective equipment. The project will also strengthen cold chain storage, including refrigerators and cold rooms, and cover awareness campaigns for mass vaccination.
RegionWeek is an Independent media project based in Burundi that needs resources to operate at its full potential. You can contribute now, and help the RegionWeek team to publish consistently. Click this link.
BURUNDI IN THE HEADLINES
Expanding the Melchior NDADAYE International airport
Over USD 170 million is the amount needed to expand the Melchior NDADAYE International airport in the economic capital of Burundi, Bujumbura. According to the Director-General of Civil Aviation Amb. Joel Nkurabagaya the feasibility studies have been completed. The works will include the extension of the airstrip, the control tower, the tarmac, the sidings as well as the passenger terminal.
Bujumbura International Airport (also known as Melchior Ndadaye International Airport) serves Bujumbura, the former capital city of Burundi. The airport is the country's main international gateway and is served by a range of African carriers. The airport was opened in 1952. On 1 July 2019, the airport was renamed Melchior Ndadaye International Airport after the first democratically elected president of Burundi who was murdered in a coup d'état in October 1993.
4 people accused of cybercrime presented to the public by Burundi National Police
On the morning of this Monday, 4 people including 2 local bank (Bancobu) employees were presented to the press by Burundi National Police. They are all accused of cybercrime theft of 150 million BIF from Bancobu bank which took place at the end of 2021.
According to the police, the app used in the theft allowed outsiders to access Bancobu Bank's computer system and make withdrawals. Cybercrime is a form of theft that was rather uncommon in Burundi until now. The spokesperson for the Ministry of interior reassured that the Burundi National police is now well equipped to deal with cases of Cybercrime.
According to an INTERPOL report, the growing rate of digital transformation within the African region is facilitating the emergence of new attack vectors and opportunities for cybercriminals. Research from a Kenyan IT cybersecurity company, Serianu, highlighted that cybercrime reduced GDP within Africa by more than 10%, at a cost of an estimated 4.12 billion USD in 2021.
Thanks for reading
Fabrice Iranzi, Editor in Chief | RegionWeek.com
This is the free briefing version to participate and get to the Zoom Briefing session, you need to join our Premium member Club. (Please contact +25771939153, WhatsApp, Telegram).
The Zoom Briefing session is an opportunity to ask questions about news stories covered by RegionWeek & Partners and to hear from experts on various topics of Interest for Burundi and East Africa.