Covid-19: Is Burundi heading towards total lockdown?
RegionWeek Newsletter Vol IV, Issue #148 | Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Dear Readers,
A sharp wind of seriousness is traveling the street of Bujumbura, some find it hard to call it fear, others find it fair to call it “a new season that requires carefulness”. But one thing is sure, it is legitimate now, to ask if Burundi may be heading towards total lockdown for several weeks in the coming days.
It all started last Friday, January 8, the committee responsible for combating the spread and contamination of covid-19 announced a new round of mass screening campaign and updated the requirement for travelers, announcing quarantine time to no longer be 3 days rather 7 days for all travelers entering Burundi by air. This was after seeing that the increase in covid-19 positive cases came from outside. The closure of land borders with the exception of freight carriers was also announced.
Early Monday, January 11 speaking to Journalists the Minister of Health, Dr. Thadee Nduwimana said 100 new patients tested positive among 5,300 people tested to have been in contact with 40 positive cases identified on January 4 and 5.
Later on the same day the Burundian Ministry of Home Affairs, Community Development, and Public Security issued new COVID-19 guidelines :
1. Nightclubs and karaoke are suspended in Burundi until further notice.
2. Drinking establishments and organizers of events that bring together a large number of people, invited to strictly comply with measures and barrier gestures.
3. The population invited not to panic following the increase in positive cases.
4. Faced with rumors about this pandemic, mainly propagated by social networks, the population is invited to trust only the official information regularly provided by the Ministry of Health.
This week started with strong reminders that the bad Burundians thought was left behind, maybe lying ahead. The Friday Communiqué, the guidelines from the Ministry of interior plus a video in which the Burundi President acknowledges that the Burundi victory against the Covid-19 is no longer effective due to negligence, woke the whole nation
Is lockdown among measures to be expected?
Commentators are a pessimist and fear the situation may be out of hand especially after an additional set of measures announced this Tuesday. Since Wednesday, 1/13/2021, all drivers (vehicles, tricycles, motorcycles, and motorcycle taxis) and their helpers (escorts) must wear masks. And everybody in public transport is expected to be wearing masks from this Thursday, 1/14/2021.
But in the video released on Monday President Ndayishimiye invites Burundians to remain calm, that the situation is under control and on the same level as when the first mass screening was introduced.
He invited all Burundians to consider participation in the mass screening as a patriotic gesture in the fight against coronavirus. In a stern warning, the President spoke to leaders saying that the full weight of the law would come down on those leaders that will fail to implement the new measures.
Bottom line
Even though there has not yet been an announcement that may hint at such a possibility, since the record of the first coronavirus in May 2019 Burundi government said it will take all necessary decisions to protect Burundians and avoid the spread of coronavirus.
Commentators believe that after the decision to wear masks in public, the next step may be to close all public gathering venues such as churches and bars if mass screening shows large numbers of active cases, then a partial lockdown may likely be the next step.
Former president Pierre Buyoya died in Paris from COVID-19 on 17 December. There were 130 new cases in December, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 818. The death toll doubled to 2. The number of recovered patients increased to 687, leaving 129 active cases at the end of the month.
Stay safe, wear a mask in public
Thanks for reading
Fabrice Iranzi, RegionWeek.com
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