The Minister of Interior, Aly Ngouille Ndiaye, announced on Thursday in Dakar, the easing of the state of health emergency with the lifting of the ban on intercity transport.
“As of today, transport restrictions throughout the national territory has been lifted with the maintenance of the curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. The bus stations will resume service for urban and interurban transport. However, a closing time is scheduled for all bus and interurban stations,” Ndiaye said.
Speaking at a joint press briefing with Health Minister, Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, Land Transport Minister, Oumar Youm and Communication Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, said that restaurants, sports halls and casinos are also affected by these measures.
The mandatory wearing of masks, social distancing, and the existence of manifests for all departing passengers will accompany these new provisions, the Interior Minister said.
For his part, the Minister of Land Transport, Oumar Youm informed that interurban transport should indeed resume from Sunday, June 7. In addition, he added that the opening and closing times of bus stations will be fixed in concert with the stakeholders in this sector. However, bars and beaches are still closed since “it is difficult to enforce the barrier measures.”
Taking stock of the overall situation of the epidemic, the Minister of Health and Social Action, Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, informed that of the 49,090 coronavirus tests carried out in Senegal since March 2, 4,021 came back positive, i.e. a positivity rate of 7.36 percent.
In total, 2162 patients have recovered and 45 patients have died. According to Mr. Sarr, this lethality rate of 1.12 percent is “well below the African and global average.” To date, 1,813 people are under treatment in 27 dedicated facilities in the country.
ARD/id/cgd/lb/abj/APA