West Region Record New COVID-19 Cases

By Neville Mesumbe

The West Region of Cameroon has recorded new cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.  

In a release dated November 12, the Governor of the Region, Augustine  Awa Fonka, stated that 34 new cases have been recorded in the Region recently.

Out of the 34 cases, the Chief Administrator stated that 18 were detected in a hospital in Penka Michel in the Menoua Division.

The Governor asserted that the virus is spreading fast to other communities and Divisions within the Region.

“Unlike in the past where we had only the Mifi and the Noun Divisions taking the lead with a lot of contaminations, this time around, we have discovered that there are certain subdivisions like Penka Michelle, colleges and schools hosting infected cases …” Governor Awa Fonka said.

He said the resurgence of the pandemic in the Region is as a result of a drop in the respect of the measures put in place by the Government of Cameroon in conformity with the World Health Organisation’s standards.

The Governor further indicated that there is a probability for the number of confirmed cases to rise in the Region and Cameroon.

“The next few weeks look as high risk with a probability of worsening of the health map of the West Region given the current context marked by the second wave of the pandemic which is currently raging in Western countries. The proximity of the end-of-year celebrations with the arrival of fellow citizens living in these countries and the persistent rumours about the resulting traffic in foreign airports by some travellers who would pay to have a negative test when they were positive,” the Governor said.

To counteract the spread of virus to the Region, the Governor has urged the population to strictly respect barrier measures put in place to fight the spread.

The measures include constant washing of hands with clean running water, the use of hand sanitizers, masks, ensuring and maintaining one metre apart and to ovoid over-crowded places, especially public and markets squares. The Governor equally asked the authorities to support the Head of State’s campaign in fighting the virus in the nation.    Official statistics show that Cameroon has recorded 22, 692 confirmed cases, 21,510 recovered cases and 433 deaths.