Guinea
A compulsory face mask order kicked into effect in Guinea over the weekend (April 18) as part of government’s efforts to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.
In the capital, Conakry, police officers conducted checks at major intersections and imposed a fine of 30,000 Guinean francs equivalent to 3 euros on offenders. In the inner suburbs, the majority of inhabitants respected this new measure which they considered useful.
Taxi driver, Alhassane Camara, said: “If you protect yourself you’re not going to get (the virus), if you don’t protect yourself, you’re going to get it too.”
But more than anything, the order has turned out to be a boost for many seamstresses and tailors, as the demand for masks have spiked since President Conde issued the order last week.
Fatoumata Mbo, a seamstress confirms the boom: “I get a lot of calls for orders. Businesses, people of good will who call us and say “I want 50 or 150” masks.”
Guinea as of April 20, had registered 579 COVID-19 cases with five deaths. Amongst the dead are the head of the elections body, Amadou Salif Kebe and Secretary-General of the government Sekou Kourouma.
Over the weekend, the death toll from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Africa surpassed 1,000 as the number of confirmed cases hit 20,000 as of Saturday, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
#Guinea hat trick of high-profile #COVID19 deaths
- Latest is of sec-gen of govt Sekou Kourouma, died on April 18
- On 17th, elections commission boss Amadou Salif Kebe succumbed
- Before him ex-INTERPOL Guinea head, Victor TraoreGuinea file: 579 cases, 5 deaths, 87 recoveries https://t.co/gWbxyBLi11
— Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban #StayHome (@AlfaAfrican) April 20, 2020
01:45
Italy: African migrants arrested after the death of a Guinean
01:13
AFCON 2023: Nigeria edges past Angola, DR Congo triumphs over Guinea in quarterfinals
Go to video
AFCON 2023: Cameroon held in check by Guinea
Go to video
Covid-19: nearly 10,000 deaths in December 2023, according to the WHO
Go to video
Ivory Coast will deliver 50 million liters of gasoline monthly to Guinea
01:12
Guinea mourns after tragic explosion and fire in Conakry