Ivorian Authorities Want Locals to Keep Up with COVID-19 Measures

Ivorians Are Over the Coronavirus Pandemic

Despite an ongoing state of emergency in Cote d’Ivoire in light of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears that many locals have slacked off on upholding mandatory coronavirus-prevention measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing — as daily case numbers are on a decline.

Ossene Ouattara, a resident of Abidjan who often takes the bus in the capital city, shares his general observations.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, as it was a new disease, people were a bit scared and were following the restrictive measures (to avoid the virus), but as soon as people saw that the number of cases was falling, they stopped following the measures. What has been happening now is that the number of cases has increased."

The Health Crisis is Not Over Yet

As of Wednesday, Côte d'Ivoire has confirmed over 31,000 COVID-19 cases and 179 deaths. Ivorian authorities continue to try to reinforce the measures so as to not see a spike in cases during this second wave — which is far from over.

Dr Milad El-Amine, otorhinolaryngologist and the director of a local private clinic, gives his thoughts on the situation.

"Is it that Africa will be spared? What has to be done so Africa is not affected by this second wave of the pandemic? It is necessary to do as we did in the beginning, to insist and insist again on sanitary measures. Unfortunately, in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and other African countries, after prolonged mask-wearing, there is a slackening of sanitary measures."

The West African nation expects to receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine this month and is also negotiating to obtain vaccines from other companies. in the hopes of launching its vaccination campaign in March.