More Sudanese states close borders against Covid-19

On Thursday, Red Sea state in eastern Sudan closed its borders with other states. El Gezira, south of Khartoum, will block all entrances to the state on Sunday, while South Darfur is discussing more measures to ward off the spread of the coronavirus.

On Thursday, Red Sea state in eastern Sudan closed its borders with other states. Ambulances and lorries carrying goods are excluded from the measures. Entry to the state is permitted only after conducting a medical examination of the driver and assistant(s) and sterilisation of the vehicle.

The Sudanese government closed the border with Egypt earlier this month.

El Dindir locality in Sennar announced the closure of all markets for ten days starting on Friday. Employees of the locality are granted a paid leave.

The government of El Gezira decided to temporarily close all borders with neighbouring states, effective on Sunday. Movement between the localities of the state is prohibited, markets must close at 1 pm each day, and street vendors are banned.

Refugee camps

On Wednesday, the Sudanese Ministry of Health confirmed the registration of 162 coronavirus patients so far, including 13 deaths.

The majority of the patients, 155, have been recorded in Khartoum, six in El Gezira and White Nile state, south of Khartoum, and one in northern Sudan’s River Nile state.  

White Nile state hosts approximately 252,000 refugees across nine camps. To date, there have been no confirmed cases of Covid-19 among refugees or displaced people in Sudan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its Situation Report yesterday.

Radio Dabanga reported yesterday that the White Nile state governor instructed the closure of the borders with the neighbouring states on Wednesday. All markets and shops will be closed for the coming two weeks, with the exception of pharmacies and shops selling food. The state also granted its employees a paid leave.

South Darfur

In a press conference in Nyala on Thursday, the governor of South Darfur urged the people in the state to abide by the curfew and prevent gatherings. He further announced plans to close the markets in the state, and ban movement between its 21 localities.

The acting Minister of Health affirmed that South Darfur is still free of any suspected coronavirus cases.

The Nyala Teaching Hospital has been divided in various departments with the aim to make the entire hospital a health isolation centre. El Malam Hospital will host coronavirus patients in the northern part of the state. Further quarantine centres have been prepared in 11 other places across the state.

In Delgo in Northern State, the decision of the authorities to close the markets and restrict the movement of people to stop the spread of Covid-19 led to violent protests on Tuesday.

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