Minister: ‘No new coronavirus infections recorded in Sudan’

The Ministry of Health announced on Sunday that no new coronavirus (Covid-19) infections have been recorded. The number of confirmed cases in Sudan now stands at 19.

Two patients were discharged from the Khartoum isolation centre on Sunday.

28 new patients are suspected of carrying the virus. The number of patients suspected of being infected with the coronavirus in all isolation centres in Sudan was 270 on Saturday. Two patients have died.

Op-ed

Two weeks ago, Radio Dabanga published an op-ed by Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Africa Centre. He stated that “given the almost total lack of testing and near-absent health care system, that figure [of confirmed cases in Sudan] is most assuredly grossly underestimated”.

“Last week alone, more than three hundred Sudanese suspected by health officials as having the virus escaped from government-administered quarantine facilities, while one hundred Sudanese nationals returning from Egypt were reportedly able to evade health screenings at the border”, he added.

He summarised that Sudan is “in perhaps one of the worst situations anywhere in the world to mobilize an effective national response because of grinding poverty, lack of household savings to offset lost income, lack of access to clean water, proper sanitation, and health supplies, and millions living in displaced persons camps across Darfur and the Two Areas where Covid-19 could rip through with devastating effect.”

Emergency Order

The first Emergency Order for 2020 issued by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok on Sunday stipulates that people refusing to undergo a medical examination can be fined SDG 10,000* ($181). People refusing to go into isolation can be given a SDG 20,000 fine. Anyone violating the measures of the ministries of work and endowments, or people who gather at weddings or funerals, buy coffee or tea in front of hospitals, violate the curfew, or walk on the banks of the Nile can be fined SDG 5,000. Travelling to another state within Sudan carries a SDG 5,000 fine as well. Not only the passenger will be fined, but also the driver, the assistant, and the owner of the bus.

Campaign

A ‘My commodities’ campaign will be launched today by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Finance, and producers of primary goods. 11 basic commodities will be provided at prices 30 to 40 per cent below market prices. These commodities are oil, sugar, flour, tea, laundry soap, soap, rice, tomato paste, salad, fava beans, and lentils.

The goods will be distributed on the basis of an e-governance system based on the national civil service number of the beneficiaries. The campaign will be implemented by cooperative societies that operate in districts and workplaces. In areas without cooperatives, the distribution will be carried out in coordination with the change and services committees.

Radio Dabanga’s editorial independence means that we can continue to provide factual updates about political developments to Sudanese and international actors, educate people about how to avoid outbreaks of infectious diseases, and provide a window to the world for those in all corners of Sudan. Support Radio Dabanga for as little as €2.50, the equivalent of a cup of coffee.