Coronavirus: Sudan journalists ask for protective gear

Four journalists in Khartoum have been infected with coronavirus and are now undergoing medical treatment. In Sennar Hospital all staff that worked on Saturday is quarantined for having had contact with a coronavirus case.

The infected journalists in the Sudanese capital are Mohamed Osman, Suzan Suliman, Salah El Haweij, and Musab Sharif.

The Sudan Women Media Network demanded that personal protective equipment be provided to journalists covering the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is to ensure their safety, enable them to do their job and inform the public about the gravity of the situation amid all rumours that cause panic and make the situation worse,” the network stated.

Sennar

Alam El Hoda, director general of the Ministry of Health in Sennar, told Radio Dabanga that all medical staff that worked at the hospital on Saturday had to be quarantined at the doctors’ hostel, because they had had contact with a coronavirus case.

Medical staff that did not work on Saturday resumed work voluntarily yesterday. Sennar Hospital is the only government hospital in the state.

Doctor El Hoda told Radio Dabanga that 10 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been registered in Sennar. Many of them are medical personnel.

He described the state's health system as “collapsed” and appealed to the people to adhere to health guidelines, cooperate with doctors and immediately report suspected cases to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Darfur

Nyala, capital of South Darfur, closed all markets and banks and tightened other coronavirus measures after five cases were confirmed, including Muzamil Abulgasim, director of the state's Epidemiology Department.

Following the news about Abulgasim, Director General Mohamed Idris of the South Darfur Ministry of Health, his deputy, employees, workers, and the director of Information and Public Relations entered home quarantine for a period of 14 days, starting on Sunday evening.

South Darfur also decided to ban congregational prayers in mosques.

The government of North Darfur has decided to close all shops in its capital El Fasher as from today. The measure allows pharmacies and water distribution centres to open until 2 pm.

North Darfur also decided to close the mosques in El Fasher. The acting governor gave all workers in the public sectors a paid vacation from today until the end of the Eid El Fitir [the feast at the end of Ramadan] holiday.

Kordofan

The security committee of El Nahud in West Kordofan decided yesterday to close the entrances to the town as part of its precautionary measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan, announced the closure of its markets for a week, starting from Tuesday. North Kordofan also decided to ban prayers inside all places of worship.

In South Kordofan, doctor Tom Catena, known from the movie The heart of Nuba said: “We have zero Intensive Care beds, nor a single ventilator in all of Nuba Mountains. If the Covid-19 virus reaches us here, we will really be in dire straits. We are taking many actions now to navigate all this.”

Khartoum

The police of Khartoum has warned yesterday that gatherings and violations of the coronavirus measures to limit movement will not be tolerated.

In a statement the police said that they would “strictly enforce the law to preserve the safety of the citizens”.

The police statement came some hours after a statement issued by the Council of Ministers, saying that the government will not tolerate violations and will strictly apply the travel ban.

River Nile

On Sunday, the Health Emergency Committee of Abu Hamed locality in River Nile state prolonged its curfew from 12 pm to 6 am for another two weeks.

Yahya Khaled, head of the committee, reported that all three confirmed coronavirus cases in the locality were people that were smuggled into Sudan from Egypt.

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