The Ivorian authorities have decided to lighten the control measures at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny airport in Abidjan.
These measures were taken this Wednesday, April 12, 2023, following a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) held at the Palace of the Presidency of the Republic, chaired by Mr. Alassane Ouattara.
“The National Security Council notes with satisfaction that the Covid-19 pandemic is largely under control in Cote d’Ivoire,” said a statement which noted that as of April 10, 2023, the country had recorded only six active cases and no hospitalizations during the past two weeks.
In addition, the cure rate is over 99 percent and only one death has been reported since the meeting of the National Security Council on January 12, 2023, the statement said, mentioning that in Greater Abidjan, the epicenter of the disease with 95 percent of cases, 52 percent of the target population has been vaccinated.
The National Security Council, pleased with the “excellent results recorded in the fight against Covid-19 since 2020,” decided to “lift, with immediate effect, the state of health emergency and to lighten the control mechanism at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny airport in Abidjan.”
In addition, the Council decided to integrate Covid-19 activities in health facilities on a routine basis and to retain the Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (SMIT) of Treichville (south of Abidjan) and the University Hospital Center (CHU) of Bouake (central Cote d’Ivoire) as the only dedicated centers for integrated management
of diseases with epidemic potential.
The 13 other Covid-19 dedicated centers should also be integrated into the health system with a view to strengthening the capacities of the hospitals hosting them. The Head of State instructed the Minister of
Health to take appropriate measures for the effective implementation of these decisions by June 30, 2023, at the latest.
He also instructed the Ministers in charge of Defense, Security and Health to inform and sensitize the Defense and Security Forces as well as the health personnel on the decisions of the National Security Council.
AP/fss/APA