Page 11 - ANTILL DGB

A11
WORLD NEWS Friday 20 March 2020
Africa sees 'extremely rapid evolution' of pandemic, UN says

By CARA ANNA that will land to (Nairobi's
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — international airport). Let
More African countries them stop," said Uhuru Ev-
closed their borders Thurs- ans, a bus driver in the cap-
day as the coronavirus' lo- ital of Kenya, East Africa's
cal spread threatened to economic hub.
turn the continent of 1.3 bil- He offered hand sanitizer to
lion people into an alarm- passengers as they board-
ing new front for the pan- ed.
demic. "Since it was announced
Africa is seeing an "ex- that it has reached Kenya,
tremely rapid evolution," I am refusing to take cus-
the World Health Organi- tomers to the airport," said
zation's regional chief, Dr. Peter Muteru, a taxi driver.
Matshidiso Moeti, told re- "It has reached a point
porters. where I carry only people I
Thirty-six of Africa's 54 coun- know."
tries now have cases, with South Africa, where the
the total over 720. Chad number of cases jumped to
and Niger announced their 150 from 116, said it would
first cases Thursday. The first install a new fence on both
case in sub-Saharan Africa sides of its main border
was announced Feb. 28, post with economically
less than three weeks ago. shattered Zimbabwe to
Moeti said she did not be- keep infected people from
lieve that large numbers of A man sprays disinfectant to sanitize a public bus against the spread of the new coronavirus, in crossing into either country
infected people are going downtown Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, March 19, 2020. undetected. South Africa
undetected but acknowl- Associated Press has the most cases in sub-
edged a shortage of test- Saharan Africa. Zimbabwe
ing kits. Forty-three coun- travel restrictions and their by sharply restricting travel. tius closed its border after has reported none.
tries have testing capabil- impact on the ability to de- On Thursday, Senegal announcing its first case. "We must protect our citi-
ity, up from two when the liver needed resources. The closed its airspace. An- Some people in other zens and fellow Africans,"
outbreak began. By Mon- WHO is considering human- gola and Cameroon shut countries clamored for Public Works Minister Patri-
day, countries will have itarian corridors, Moeti said. air, land and sea borders. their governments to block cia de Lille said. The new
60,000 testing kits. But many African nations Rwanda blocked all com- flights, too. fence will stretch some 12
The WHO regional chief also were taking their cue from mercial flights for a month. "To stop this virus once and miles (19 kilometers) on ei-
expressed concern about China and other countries The island nation of Mauri- for all is to stop any flight ther side.q

Egypt holds activists who urged prisoner releases amid virus

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian au- through Egypt's prison sys- A prosecutor accused
thorities on Thursday con- tem. them of violating the coun-
tinued to detain the moth- Three of the women who try's strict protest ban with
er of a prominent jailed protested Wednesday are their gathering. Sanaa Seif
activist, after she and three related to prominent jailed said her mother was taken
others were arrested earlier Egyptian activist Alaa Ab- to a prosecutors' office for
this week for staging a pro- del Fattah. further questioning Thurs-
test to demand the release Authorities kept Soueif in day. Abdel Fattah's fam-
of prisoners amid the new custody, but on Thursday ily have all been vocal
coronavirus outbreak. released both her sister, rights activists in Egypt. A
Laila Soueif's detention her daughter Mona Seif as 38-year-old software engi-
came as the Egyptian gov- well as the fourth activist, neer, Abdel Fattah grew
ernment tries to maintain its according to a Facebook into a figurehead of the
firm grip on dissent amid a post from another daugh- pro-democracy protest
burgeoning world health ter, Sanaa Seif, who did not movement on social me-
crisis. According to human attend the protest. dia during the 2011 upris-
rights groups, there are tens Mona Seif had live- ing that removed longtime In this Oct. 26, 2014 file photo, Egypt's most prominent activ-
ist Alaa Abdel Fattah, left, walks with his mother Laila Soueif, a
of thousands imprisoned streamed a video of herself President Hosni Mubarak. university professor who is an also an activist, outside a court, in
in Egypt for their political and the other three as they He served a five-year pris- Cairo, Egypt.
views. held up signs on a sidewalk on sentence for violating Associated Press
On Wednesday, prosecu- in downtown Cairo. Egypt's protest ban, and in
tors charged Soueif and "In normal circumstances, September, not long after could not be immediately ing false news.
three other activists of Egyptian prisons are epi- his release, he was arrested reached for comment. El- In recent months, his gov-
spreading false news and centers of diseases. Can again amid a widespread Sissi has maintained in the ernment has led several
violating the country's pro- you imagine how bad crackdown that followed past that the country has press tours of prisons that
test ban. They had stood things must be now in the small protests demanding no political prisoners, but show them in gleaming
outside the Cabinet build- midst of an epidemic?" she current President Abdel tens of thousands have condition with modern
ing asking the government said in the video. Minutes Fattah el-Sissi step down — been arrested and handed health facilities. But inmates
to free inmates over con- later, the live stream was although he did not partici- prison sentences for break- and rights workers tell a dif-
cerns that the coronavi- cut when police seemed pate in the protests. ing the protest ban or on ferent story, of packed cells
rus could rapidly spread to stop the filming. Egyptian authorities vague charges of spread- with little sunlight. q