Fighting spread of COVID-19: Cameroon Announces Imminent Arrival Of Vaccines, Reinforces Barrier Measures

With a view to strengthen Cameroon’s prevention mechanism against the further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic following an upsurge in the number of cases, government has on the instructions of the Head of State, Paul Biya, taken steps with partner organisations to acquire vaccines for the disease.

The announcement was made Friday 5 March 2021 by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute. This was in a declaration on the evolution and new orientations on the prevention of the virus in the country which he made on the instructions of the president.

“…more than one million doses of the vaccine will be available in the very near future. Once these vaccines become available, a vaccination plan shall be set up and vaccination shall be voluntary. Although vaccination is voluntary and not compulsory, the government encourages all Cameroonians to be vaccinated when the time comes in order to acquire the immunity that will enable our community to protect itself against the COVID-19 for a return to normalcy,” partly read the declaration of the PM.

Dion said the non-respect, laxity in the application of safety measures and failure to comply with restrictive measures prescribed by government has deteriorated the epidemiological situation of the virus in the country with more than 3000 new cases recorded with 37 deaths in a space of a week, bringing the overall number of cases to 38 988 and 588 deaths respectively with a total of 34 887 recoveries.

He reiterated that some of the restrictive measures taken by government 17 March 2020 which were not expressly lifted by the President of the Republic notably prohibition of gatherings of more than 50 persons, working remotely and using electronic means in cases where social distancing cannot be respected, suspension of missions abroad for government officials except in case of express permission, systematic wearing of masks, washing of hands with running water and using alcoholic gels are and remain enforce.

“This disease is real. It continues to wreak havoc among our love ones and strikes brutally at people with cold morbidity,” Dion warned, adding, that government has an obligation to protect all despite the denial of the reality of the virus by some citizens. 

He described such beliefs as irresponsible and favours the spread of the virus especially at a time when many variance have been discovered in certain countries.

The PM instructed administrative authorities to ensure reinstatement of hand washing or use of hand sanitizers in all public places including churches while ensuring that access to public structures are subjected to the wearing of facemask.

He equally instructed the ministers of education and that of trade to ensure strict application of barrier measures in all schools and universities as well as in shopping centres nationwide. 

He urged transport agencies, taxis/bikes to ensure respect of the safety measures and ordered that screening be stepped up at all entry points of the country.

He recommended personal discipline, individual and collective prevention measures as best means to curb the spread of the disease while calling on opinion, political, community leaders, associations, and trade unions to help join in the sensitization of the directives of the Head of State to fight the virus that disturbs the country’s social balance and the realization of the development agenda.