Source:
https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mu...ribui-propagacao-a-comportamento-da-populacao
Equatorial Guinea attributes spread to population behavior
The President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, pointed out the population's failure to comply with sanitary measures as the main cause of the spread of covid-19 in the country, rejecting failures in the Government's response to the pandemic.
Equatorial Guinea attributes spread to population behavior
News to the Minute
16/06/20 13:53 ‧ 5 hours ago by Lusa
"Despite the Government's great concern to protect the population through confinement, we have unfortunately seen the lack of appreciation of citizens by not observing the rules dictated" by the commission to fight covid-19, said Teodoro Obiang.
In a message, released on Monday, to signal the lifting of the state of emergency and the easing of containment measures after four months, Teodoro Obiang considered that the executive "never failed to fulfill its responsibilities to protect the population", prolonging " so often "health emergency measures.
Since Monday, Equatorial Guinea has lifted the state of health emergency throughout the country, with the end of mandatory confinement and mobility restrictions between the capital Malabo and Bata, in the continental part of the country, cities where most of the cases.
The remaining districts will have mobility limited to their areas.
All public establishments will be open and mandatory use of masks in general is instituted (open spaces, public services, public transport and in private vehicles with more than one person).
When lifting the restriction measures, the head of state warned of the "double-edged sword" that represents the end of the state of emergency.
"This lifting of the state of emergency is a double-edged sword that the population must know how to handle because non-compliance with the rules can cause a massive spread of the pandemic with harmful consequences in terms of loss of life," he said.
"From now on, the Government will not oblige any citizen to confinement, but it is up to citizens to isolate themselves so as not to be infected. The responsibility and security of our lives is in our hands," he added.
Teodoro Obiang, who has been confined at home since the beginning of the state of emergency, added that measures to fight the pandemic were lifted because "the people feel asphyxiated by the confinement and severe economic depression".
"Our economy will reach a negative value this year and this is mainly due to the effect of covid-19, together with the drop in oil prices in international markets. This situation will undoubtedly deteriorate our ability to generate wealth. , to create jobs and to finance the General State Budget ", said Obiang.
On the other hand, he added, the survey now occurs because "it was possible to supply the national health system with modern and sophisticated equipment" to treat critically ill patients.
"The Government has bought a lot of equipment and sanitary material to deal with contagion cases due to the new coronavirus, which is why I invite you to have confidence in the hospitals of Malabo and Bata as the most reliable resources when someone feels affected by this terrible pandemic", guaranteed.
The head of state regretted, on the other hand, "the biased comments of irresponsible people", according to which the country's hospitals "are to blame for the deaths" of covid-19 patients, when in "other high-tech sanitary countries die daily thousands of people".
"It is not fair that when a person is ill at home, without going to the hospital, and when at the last moment he dies in a medical center, the responsibility is placed on health professionals and health centers," he said.
The authorities' response to the covid-19 pandemic has been the target of strong opposition from the Ecuadorian-Guinean opposition, which criticized the measures of lack of confidence and accused the executive of "a negative attitude" and of trying to hide the true dimension of the pandemic in the country.
Alleged disagreements over the disclosure of the numbers are responsible for the request for the replacement of the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Malabo authorities.
According to the most recent data update on the impact of the pandemic in the country, Equatorial Guinea has recorded 1,664 positive cases and 32 deaths.