Burundi government have called on its citizens to respect the Covid-19 preventive measures as Gitega says there have been a surge in cases for the past weeks.
In a statement Burundi’s internal affairs minister Gervais Ndirakobuca said that in recent days, authorities say that they observed a clear slackening in strict compliance with imposed measures.
“This has led to a significant increase in positive cases in the country, whether within the country, in towns and urban centers,” said Burundi’s minister for internal affairs.
Burundi is among the few countries in East Africa that never imposed lock downs, however the government imposed restrictive measures to curb the spread that includes washing hands, social distancing, prohibit hugs and handshakes and suspending night clubs.
Burundi government in a statement issued a warning to night club owners who have continued to violate the imposed measure, and continued operating despite the ban on night clubs.
“Severe penalties will be imposed on people who test positive and who continue to spread the pandemic by violating self-quarantine,” said the internal affairs minister in a statement.
The government has called on the local administration to redouble community surveillance to verify that people with colds, those showing signs of Covid-19 or who have been in contact with Covid-19 patients to wear masks, isolate themselves and will be tested as quickly as possible as the test being free throughout the national territory.
According to the latest on Covid-19 in the country, 936,339 people have tested for the virus as of December 15th 2021.
21,422 people tested positive for the virus and fatality cases stands at 14, with 20604 recovered and discharged from the hospital.
In the last seven days the country has recorded a 392.3% increase in new Covid-19 cases.
The number of new local cases reported (640 cases) having been multiplied five times compared to the previous seven days in which 130 community cases were reported.
The daily average is number of infections stands at 91 new local cases compared to 19 of the same period last month with a daily increase of 79.7 percent.