Chad Makes Masks, Social-distancing Obligatory as Covid-19 Cases Mount

AFP  

Tuesday 23 Aug 2022

Chad reintroduced rules making it obligatory to wear face masks in public spaces and observe social-distancing as the number of coronavirus cases rises again in one of the world's least-developed countries, the health ministry said.

Coronavirus measures in Chad

UNICEF Chad along with 280 volunteers, members of the Guides and Scouts Associations has coordinated to cover the capital N Djamena with 8,000 posters, containing the protection measures as physical distancing, frequent hand washing with soap and water or alcoholic gel, and wearing a mask to stop the advance of the coronavirus.

"In view of the epidemiological situation of the Covid-19 pandemic both worldwide and in Chad in particular... all preventative measures against disease, particular mask-wearing and social-distancing, must be adhered to," the ministry said in a statement.

Since the outbreak of the global pandemic in early 2020, Chad has recorded a total 7,417 cases and 194 deaths from Covid-19.

Last week, a total 33 new cases were reported in the capital N'Djamena alone.

The ministry said that vaccination "remains strongly recommended for the entire population".

Chad is ranked by the United Nations as the third-least-developed country in the world and suffers from very high rates of deaths in childbirth, with one child in every five dying before reaching the age of five.

The African Development Bank has said that Covid-19 "likely exacerbated poverty rates" in the landlocked country.