Southern Cameroons facing an onslaught of Covid-19 ⁰

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Southern Cameroons abandoned by the international community is now increasing at an alarming proportion particularly in Bamenda the chief city in the Northern Zone that continues to host massive religious events.

Ever since the open air mass celebrated by the visiting Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in Bamenda and the commissioning of Bishop Bibi as the head of the Buea Diocese, several  infections have been confirmed, according to Cameroon Concord News count, compiled from figures provided by national health agencies run by the Biya regime in Yaoundé.

Many people including some Roman Catholic clergy have lost their lives to Covid-19 recently in Southern Cameroons.

Cameroon Concord News understands that the vast majority of people infected with the virus recover, but some patients are now suffering from symptoms for weeks or even months.

The senior religious leaders reportedly claimed that Covid-19 has been defeated but it now appears that the war, unemployment and the preference of prayers instead of masks has prompted a soaring in cases to such an extent that even the church, schools and other public institutions are contemplating to openly issue warnings about the spread of the virus.

Unconfirmed reports say the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé secretly placed a ban on the publication of coronavirus virus figures. Our correspondent in Bamenda who contributed to this report hinted that two revered fathers including the Vicar for clergy in the Bamenda Archdiocese, Rev Fr. Patrick Nyuydini Lafon have died but the Church has refused to admit that they had the coronavirus.

Under mounting pressure from Cameroon Concord News, the exiled leader of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government Vice President Dabney Yerima said the virus is now in Southern Cameroons.  Yerima added that if the Bishops and leaders of other Christian communities including the Muslim Imams fail to act fast, they will be blessing coffins every five minutes in Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia.

The war in Southern Cameroons has prevented aid groups from implementing systematic testing, and the so-called regional and divisional hospitals continue to test only the most seriously ill.

By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda