COVID-19 combat: Cameroon officials share washable masks in Douala

In a bid to stop the spread of the COVID-19 in Cameroon’s coastal city of Douala, city officials led by Mayor Roger Mbassa Ndine on Monday (April 6) distributed face masks to motorcycle and taxi drivers.

The mayor said the aim is to combat the spread of the virus which could explode due to the high mobility of residents. “We will intensify the distribution in the coming days in the other boroughs, our wish is that everyone has a mask all day long. Wearing a mask will be made compulsory,” the Mayor said.

Cameroon is one of few African countries that have not imposed restrictions on movement despite being sub-Saharan Africa’s second most impacted after South Africa.

“These masks are washable, you can wash them in the evening and wear them the next day. This is the way to stop the spread of the coronavirus,” he stressed.

One month after the discovery of the first case of coronavirus in Cameroon, the country os of April 9 had 730 cases with 10 deaths and 60 recoveries. The virus has spread to five regions of the country

For Brice Ekanga, a vendor it is important to have such preventive measures against a very difficult and rampaging virus. “If it were my decision, I would have liked total containment. Can you imagine if I take a taxi for example, if you are in the taxi and you are even only two people, if one person is infected the other will automatically be infected.”

District mayors have also launched a sanitation campaign to disinfect unsanitary areas. Authorities said the situation is worrying and called for barrier measures to stop the pandemic from spreading.