COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon
The COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Cameroon on 6 March 2020.
| COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon | |
|---|---|
 Confirmed cases by region as of 2 October 2020. | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Cameroon |
| First outbreak | Wuhan, China |
| Index case | Yaoundé |
| Arrival date | 6 March 2020 (10 months, 4 weeks and 2 days) |
| Confirmed cases | 30,313 (as of 3 February)[1] |
| Active cases | 1,794 (as of 3 February) |
| Recovered | 28,045 (as of 3 February) |
Deaths | 474 (as of 3 February) |
Territories | Bafoussam, Douala & Yaounde |
| Government website | |
| covid19 | |
Background
On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[2][3]
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[4][5] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[6][4] Model-based simulations for Cameroon indicate that the 95% confidence interval for the time-varying reproduction number R t has been stable around 1.0 since August 2020.[7]
Timeline
Active cases
March 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Cameroon, Central Africa on 6 March with its first confirmed case.[8] The infected person is a French national who arrived in the capital Yaoundé 24 February.[9][10][11]
The second case in the country was announced on 6 March. The case was a Cameroonian citizen who was in close contact with the first case, but officials did not release any further information on the case.[12]
Five new cases were confirmed on 18 March. Although further information about the victims was not published, one of the confirmed victims is a foreigner.[13]
The Minister of Public Health, Dr. Malachie Manaouda, revealed on 23 March that among the 16 cases tested positive that morning, 9 were from Douala, 6 in Yaoundé, and one in Bafoussam.[14]
On 27 March, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Cameroon reached 91 with the break down per areas as: 63 in Yaounde, 25 in Douala and 3 in Bafoussam.[15][16][17][18]
The total number of COVID-19 cases keep climbing up in the country. On 30 March, the Minister of Public Health announced that Cameroon had 142 active cases with 6 deaths.[19]
April 2020
The number of confirmed cases climbed to 1,832 in April. The number of recovered patients increased to 934, with 837 active cases at the end of the month.[20]
May 2020
On 5 May, Cameroon had 2,104 confirmed cases and 64 deaths.[21]
There were 4,072 new cases in May, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 5,904. The number of recovered patients increased to 3,568. There were 2,145 active cases at the end of the month.[22]
June 2020
During June there were 6,688 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 12,592. The number of recovered patients increased to 10,100. There were 2,179 active cases at the end of the month.[23]
July 2020
There were 4,663 new cases in July, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 17,255. The number of recovered patients increased by 5,220 to 15,320. There were 1,544 active cases at the end of the month, a decrease by 29% from the end of June.[24]
August 2020
There were 1,887 new cases in August, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 19,142.[25] There were 1,080 active cases at the end of the month.
September 2020
There were 1,696 new cases in September, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 20,838. There were 901 active cases at the end of the month.[26]
October 2020
There were 955 new cases in October, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 21,793. There were 1,250 active cases at the end of the month.[27]
November 2020
There were 2,086 new cases in November, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 24,189.[28]
December 2020
There were 2,088 new cases in December, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 26,277.[29]
January 2021
There were 3,340 new cases in January, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 29,617.[30]
March 2020
The first death occurred on 24 March,[31] the deceased was the famous saxophonist Manu Dibango.[32] By the end of March six persons had died from COVID-19.[33]
April 2020
There were 56 deaths in April, bringing the death toll to 61.[20]
May 2020
There were 130 deaths in May, bringing the death toll to 191.[22]
June 2020
There were 122 reported deaths in June, bringing the reported death toll to 313.[23]
July 2020
There were 78 reported deaths in July, bringing the reported death toll to 391.[24]
August 2020
There were 20 reported deaths in August, bringing the reported death toll to 411.[25]
September 2020
There were seven reported deaths in September, bringing the reported death toll to 418.[26]
October 2020
There were eight reported deaths in October, bringing the death toll to 426.[27]
November 2020
There were eleven reported deaths in November, bringing the death toll to 437.[28]
December 2020
There were eleven reported deaths in December, taking the death toll to 448.[29]
January 2021
There were 14 reported deaths in January, taking the death toll to 462.[30]
Medical supply donations
Jack Ma donated medical supplies (20,000 test kits, 100,000 masks and 1,000 medical-use protective suits and face shields) to Cameroon to assist the efforts to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic in Africa.[34] The supplies arrived at Cameroon's Yaounde Nsimalen Airport on 27 March.[35]
Samuel Eto'o gave 50,000 facial protection masks to taxi drivers in his country.[36]
Government measures
On 18 March, Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute closed its land, air and sea borders.[37]
On 30 March, the Minister of Health announced the imminent launch of a coronavirus test campaign in the city of Douala. Dedicated teams will go door-to-door in the economic capital from April 2 to 6, says the minister.[38]
On 7 April, the Cameroonian government has suspended calls for public generosity in the fight against COVID-19, a move that attracted criticism over political motives.[39]
On 10 April, the government took 7 additional measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Cameroon. These measures take effect from Monday, 13 April 2020.[40]
- Measure 1: Wearing a mask in all areas open to the public;
- Measure 2: Local production of drugs, screening tests, protective masks and hydro-alcoholic gels;
- Measure 3: Establishment of specialized COVID-19 treatment centers in all regional capitals;
- Measure 4: Intensification of the screening campaign with the collaboration of the Center Pasteur;
- Measure 5: Intensification of the awareness campaign in urban and rural areas in both official languages;
- Measure 6: Continuation of activities essential to the economy in strict compliance with the directives of March 17, 2020;
- Measure 7: Sanction
On April 15, following the claims of the Human Rights Commission of the Cameroon Bar Association, President Paul Biya announced the release of certain prisoners in connection with COVID-19.[41]
On Tuesday May 5, the Minister of Health announced the provision to healthcare personnel of 50,000 coveralls, 320,000 surgical masks, 220 backpack sprayers, 10,000 pairs of overshoes.[21]
In late June, the government announced that the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations would be postponed until 2022.[42]
See also
References
- "MINSANTE-COVID-19". Minsante.cm. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- Future scenarios of the healthcare burden of COVID-19 in low- or middle-income countries, MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London.
- Kouagheu, Josiane (6 March 2020). "Cameroon confirms first case of coronavirus". Reuters. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Lukong, Pius; Woussou, Kossi (6 March 2020). "Cameroon, Togo Report First Confirmed Cases of Coronavirus". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Cameroon confirms first case of coronavirus". National Post. Reuters. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Cameroon Confirms First Case of Coronavirus". The New York Times. Reuters. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Ndi, Ndi Eugene (6 March 2020). "Cameroon confirms second case of coronavirus". The East African. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- "Coronavirus: Cameroon confirms 5 new cases". Business in Cameroon. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- "Cameroon: Coronavirus cases rise to 56". Journal du Cameroun.com. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- "Coronavirus : le Cameroun compte désormais 91 cas confirmés". actucameroun.com (in French). 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- "Cameroon: COVID-19 cases hit 88". Journal du Cameroun.com. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- "Cameroon: Coronavirus cases climb to 66". Journal du Cameroun.com. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- "Panic as confirmed coronavirus cases in Cameroon hit 70". mimimefoinfos.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- "Cameroon's Coronavirus cases move up to 142". Journal du Cameroun.com. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 102" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 May 2020. p. 5. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Au Cameroun, sur la piste du coronavirus dans les quartiers de Douala". Le Monde.fr (in French). 5 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 133" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 June 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 163" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 July 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 194" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 August 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "Outbreak brief 33: COVID-19 pandemic – 1 September 2020". CDC Africa. 1 September 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- "COVID-19 situation update for the WHO African region. External situation report 31" (PDF). World Health Organization. 30 September 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- "COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update". World Health Organization. 3 November 2020. p. 13. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- "Cameroon records 2,086 new Coronavirus cases in one month". Journal du Cameroun. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- "Outbreak brief 50: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 29 December 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- "COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update". World Health Organization. 2 February 2021. p. 15. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- "Cameroon confirms 1st death from COVID-19". www.aa.com.tr.
- "Décès du saxophoniste Manu Dibango". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 72" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 April 2020. p. 8. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- "China's richest man sends medical supplies to Cameroon". www.aa.com.tr.
- Foguem, Ariane (27 March 2020). "Cameroon receives Chinese Billlionaire Jack Ma's aid to fight COVID-19". Journal du Cameroun. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- Enow, Par Njie (17 April 2020). "Coronavirus : Mouna Dreams a non profit founded by a Cameroonian Liliane Bisseck gave 500 face masks to children in the villages. Eto'o prévoit d'aider 100 000 personnes au Cameroun". BBC News Afrique (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- "Coronavirus : le Cameroun ferme ses frontières". TV5MONDE (in French). 18 March 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- "Coronavirus: au Cameroun, le silence de Paul Biya, face à l'épidémie, fait parler". RFI (in French). 31 March 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- "Coronavirus au Cameroun : les opérations de solidarité dans le viseur du gouvernement – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- CRTVweb [@CRTV_web] (9 April 2020). "7 mesures supplémentaires contre la propagation du #Covid19 au #Cameroun Mesure 1 : port du masque obligatoire" (Tweet) (in French). Retrieved 10 April 2020 – via Twitter.
- "Coronavirus au Cameroun : Paul Biya annonce la libération de certains prisonniers – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 16 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- Kindzeka, Moki E. (1 July 2020). "Cameroon Plans to Improve Infrastructure as AFCON Is Postponed to 2022". Voice of America. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
External links
- Cameroon: Caught between conflict and coronavirus in Cameroon
- Cameroon: Child Marriage Worries Rise Amid Coronavirus Lockdown in Cameroon
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