Before containment, most people in Africa were between fear and anger. “How are we going to do it?” Asked customers and sellers in the huge market of Lagos Island, in the heart of the economic capital of Nigeria, a few hours before a general confinement announced by the Nigerian head of state: a question that arises across the continent.
“I have already bought rice, beans and cassava for my five children,” said AFP Mounsomola in the usually crowded streets full of all kinds of stalls. “It’ll all be over in a week … and by then I won’t have any more money.” People returning from travel from this period had been quarantined to avoid community contagion Two conditions must absolutely be met, they are a matter of common sense, more than science:
Are we clearly out of the peak of the epidemic?
Even if we observe today some signals that we would like to consider positive, such as the stabilization of the number of new hospitalized patients and those requiring resuscitation, the situation remains uncertain, because the tension on the health personnel and hospital resources remain extreme, despite four weeks of confinement, while there is a real relaxation in the adhesion of some.
To date, have we gathered the elements to give the deconfinement strategy maximum chances of success?
And there is still a lot to do, when time is running out [8]