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Source: http://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/2020050...-m%C3%A9decins
In Burundi, there are more deaths than announced, alert doctors
Published on: 10/05/2020 - 02:25
Doctors are sounding the alarm: refusal to test patients with symptoms of coronavirus, cases hidden in particular in a hotel or many suspicious deaths ... They denounce "a deliberate policy" so as not to disrupt the electoral process.
After being officially spared "by the goodness of God" for a long time by Covid-19, Burundi remains one of the countries least affected by the pandemic if the authorities are to be believed. The counter of positive tested cases has been blocked for one week out of 19 positive tested cases, including only one death. The result is that buses, churches and markets are crowded and that tens of thousands of people flock to political rallies daily for the May 20 elections.
But doctors are sounding the alarm. Medical sources say at least six people with Covid-19 symptoms, all in respiratory distress, lost their lives this week in two hospitals in Bujumbura. Others in less serious condition are reported in several hospitals in the capital or are bedridden at their homes. The problem is that the Ministry of Health refuses to test these patients "by ensuring that it is probably a simple flu or malaria", accuse our sources.
"A hidden transmission"
Worse in their eyes, the INSP, the only structure that tests for coronavirus in Burundi, took the necessary samples from two of these cases. They died two days later, and so far the INSP has never released the results of these tests.
Officially, the situation is completely under control in this country protected, according to the authorities, by "the good Lord Almighty". Unfortunately, "there is a hidden and uncontrolled community transmission," warned one of these doctors.
As a result, the Source Nile Hotel in Bujumbura, which initially housed travelers in quarantine, has become a containment center for Covid-19 positive cases, asymptomatic or not very seriously ill. 45 people, some under treatment, were confined there two days ago, according to our sources. They are not allowed to leave their room except for a daily temperature measurement in front of the hotel. But they pass through a dedicated staircase, which is disinfected immediately after. Finally, their food is placed in single-use trays which are placed in front of the door of their rooms by staff who wear gloves and masks.
No head of the health sector can be reached until the night of Saturday. Meanwhile, the coronavirus policy worries WHO.
■ Human Rights Watch denounces
Election campaign is very tense in Burundi, where the government accuses the main opposition party, the CNL of Agathon Rwasa, of being practically the only person responsible for the political violence that is observed during the electoral campaign before the planned triple election in eight days. The police have already announced the arrest of around sixty party activists and two of the party's legislative candidates have also been arrested, but their leader is resisting.
International human rights organization Human Rights Watch is still investigating the most recent incidents, but its director for Central Africa Lewis Mudge recalls that the authorities and the Imbonerakure, the youth affiliated with the party in power, have been responsible since 2015 for numerous acts of violence, with impunity.
The fact that the government announces that it is only the CNL that is responsible for the recent violence is not surprising: it corresponds to the government's statements in recent years. It is never the fault of the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD. All the bad things that happen on the hills are always the fault of the opponents. Violence and repression have been a distinctive sign of politics in Burundi since 2015. These elections will take place in a context where the Burundian authorities and young people linked to the ruling party use violence with almost total impunity. At the same time, it should be noted that to a much lesser extent, violence against members and young people of the CNDD-FDD has also been documented.
In Burundi, there are more deaths than announced, alert doctors
Published on: 10/05/2020 - 02:25
Doctors are sounding the alarm: refusal to test patients with symptoms of coronavirus, cases hidden in particular in a hotel or many suspicious deaths ... They denounce "a deliberate policy" so as not to disrupt the electoral process.
After being officially spared "by the goodness of God" for a long time by Covid-19, Burundi remains one of the countries least affected by the pandemic if the authorities are to be believed. The counter of positive tested cases has been blocked for one week out of 19 positive tested cases, including only one death. The result is that buses, churches and markets are crowded and that tens of thousands of people flock to political rallies daily for the May 20 elections.
But doctors are sounding the alarm. Medical sources say at least six people with Covid-19 symptoms, all in respiratory distress, lost their lives this week in two hospitals in Bujumbura. Others in less serious condition are reported in several hospitals in the capital or are bedridden at their homes. The problem is that the Ministry of Health refuses to test these patients "by ensuring that it is probably a simple flu or malaria", accuse our sources.
"A hidden transmission"
Worse in their eyes, the INSP, the only structure that tests for coronavirus in Burundi, took the necessary samples from two of these cases. They died two days later, and so far the INSP has never released the results of these tests.
Officially, the situation is completely under control in this country protected, according to the authorities, by "the good Lord Almighty". Unfortunately, "there is a hidden and uncontrolled community transmission," warned one of these doctors.
As a result, the Source Nile Hotel in Bujumbura, which initially housed travelers in quarantine, has become a containment center for Covid-19 positive cases, asymptomatic or not very seriously ill. 45 people, some under treatment, were confined there two days ago, according to our sources. They are not allowed to leave their room except for a daily temperature measurement in front of the hotel. But they pass through a dedicated staircase, which is disinfected immediately after. Finally, their food is placed in single-use trays which are placed in front of the door of their rooms by staff who wear gloves and masks.
No head of the health sector can be reached until the night of Saturday. Meanwhile, the coronavirus policy worries WHO.
■ Human Rights Watch denounces
Election campaign is very tense in Burundi, where the government accuses the main opposition party, the CNL of Agathon Rwasa, of being practically the only person responsible for the political violence that is observed during the electoral campaign before the planned triple election in eight days. The police have already announced the arrest of around sixty party activists and two of the party's legislative candidates have also been arrested, but their leader is resisting.
International human rights organization Human Rights Watch is still investigating the most recent incidents, but its director for Central Africa Lewis Mudge recalls that the authorities and the Imbonerakure, the youth affiliated with the party in power, have been responsible since 2015 for numerous acts of violence, with impunity.
The fact that the government announces that it is only the CNL that is responsible for the recent violence is not surprising: it corresponds to the government's statements in recent years. It is never the fault of the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD. All the bad things that happen on the hills are always the fault of the opponents. Violence and repression have been a distinctive sign of politics in Burundi since 2015. These elections will take place in a context where the Burundian authorities and young people linked to the ruling party use violence with almost total impunity. At the same time, it should be noted that to a much lesser extent, violence against members and young people of the CNDD-FDD has also been documented.
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