28, April 2020

New York doctor who treated COVID-19 patients kills herself ⁰

A New York emergency doctor who treated coronavirus patients has killed herself, with family, police and physicians linking her death to trauma faced by health care workers battling the outbreak.

Lorna Breen, 49, died on Sunday from self-inflicted injuries in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she had been staying with her family, police said in a statement.

Breen ran the emergency department of New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in Manhattan, a facility that has seen a huge influx of COVID-19 patients.

While it is not clear why she took her own life, her family, police and doctors suggested stress caused by the outbreak had contributed to her death.

“She tried to do her job and it killed her,” her father Philip Breen told The New York Times.

He said she had no history of mental illness and had contracted coronavirus herself before returning to work and then being sent home.

“Frontline healthcare professionals and first responders are not immune to the mental or physical effects of the current pandemic,” said Charlottesville police chief RaShall Brackney.

The president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, of which Breen was a member, said her death was a tragic reminder of the suffering that many health care workers are going through.

“The impossibility of the situation in many of our hospitals leaves us deeply wounded.

“I can only imagine for Dr. Breen it was more than she could bear — not out of weakness, but out of the strength of her compassion,” William Jaquis said in a statement on the group’s website.

The hospital where she worked described her as “a hero who brought the highest ideals of medicine to the challenging front lines of the emergency department.”

More than 17,300 people have died from COVID-19 across New York state, the epicenter of America’s outbreak.

Source: AFP

28, April 2020

Of Ngarbuh and Bafut Massacres and the arrest of Captain Jacques Tchenem Valkossa ⁰

Out of shame and embarrassment, the operations manager of the French Cameroun war machinery in Southern Cameroons, Joseph Beti Assomo has said in a press release that the Francophone army captain Jacques Tchenem Valkossa who carried out the massacre at Ngarbuh has been disarmed and forced back to Yaoundé where he will be tried at the Military Court next week.

The Defense boss also revealed in the communiqué that Captain Valkossa of the Fourth Amphibious Rapid Intervention Battalion led a team of seven soldiers who opened fire on a farm mother of three and beheaded a civilian suspected of being a leader of a separatist group.

Mr Joseph Beti Assomo concluded his flat press release that was made public on state radio and television by offering his condolences to the families of the bereaved and warned the military to remain professional in accordance with a recent presidential order punishing crimes by soldiers.

If you have been following the war in Southern Cameroons, you will know Mr. Joseph Beti Assomo who said that French Cameroun soldiers would implement President Biya’s war decision without batting an eyelid. He seek and gotten a longer timeframe to submit a fake Ngarbuh Massacre report to the international community on the numerous atrocities committed by French Cameroun army soldiers in that locality and in Southern Cameroons in general.

Beti Assomo’s statement came out on the same day that the French Cameroun army staged another massacre operation in Bafut, in the Mezam County. Cameroon government military trucks loaded with soldiers entered Bafut via Metap village firing shots and explosives. Several Southern Cameroons houses were set on fire in Mankwi, followed by the arrest of 10 civilians.

Cameroon Intelligence Report thinks it is of vital importance to state that this new massacre comes just days after the publication of the report on the Ngarbuh incident, following a so-called independent investigation by the Head of State, Paul Biya.

All military judges and army and gendarmerie commanders are from President Paul Biya’s Beti Ewondo tribe whose main goal is to keep Biya and his tribal setting in power and plunder Southern Cameroons wealth. The Yaoundé government will not allocate any resources required to pursue another investigation in Bafut as they have done in the past.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

28, April 2020

Russia overtakes China with recorded Covid-19 cases at 87,000 ⁰

Russia overtook China in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday, when its tally climbed above 87,000, as pressure rose on the government to consider easing lockdown restrictions for businesses to help shore up the rattled economy.

Russia, the world’s largest country by territory, has been on lockdown since President Vladimir Putin announced the closure of most public spaces in late March. These measures are due to expire on April 30 and Putin has not yet said if he plans to extend them.

Anna Popova, the head of Russia’s safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, told state television on Monday that, in her view, restrictions should be in place until May 12.

Earlier Prime Minister Mikhail Mishushin asked his government to submit proposals by Thursday to ease some of the restrictions on businesses. Many firms have warned that they risk going bankrupt if the lockdown continues, and thousands of workers have been laid off.

Mishustin told an online government meeting that as soon as the situation started to improve “we would need to consider a step-by-step cancellation of restrictions on certain companies… operations”.

On Monday, the authorities reported 6,198 new cases of the new coronavirus, bringing the total to 87,147, with 794 deaths.

Moscow plans to open two new hospitals, with 1,500 beds each, in the defence ministry’s Patriot museum and in the Crocus exhibition centre, once a spot for lavish concerts, business daily RBC reported on Monday.

St Petersburg, the country’s second largest city, is also turning Lenexpo, which used to host Russia’s top economic forum, into a temporary hospital with 1,000 beds.

Energy sector in focus

Russia, one of the world’s top oil and gas exporters, is particularly vulnerable to the spread of the coronavirus at production sites. Most are located in remote areas accessible only by air, meaning the workers must be in close proximity, increasing their risk of infection.

Citing local officials, news agency Interfax said on Monday that an airport in Sabetta, in the northern Yamal peninsula, had been shut down for quarantine after cases of the new coronavirus were detected at the Yamal LNG production site controlled by Novatek.

A total of 143 cases were confirmed in Sabetta, the local crisis response centre said separately.

In the northwestern region of Murmansk where Novatek is building a plant to supply its next LNG project, the Arctic LNG 2, more than 800 workers tested positive for coronavirus, the local crisis response centre said on Sunday.

Velesstroy, a sub-contractor for the plant, temporarily suspended work at the site near Murmansk, but said in a statement to Reuters that the project would remain on schedule.

To limit the risk of contagion at more than 1,000 power plants in Russia, including nuclear ones, more than 200,000 employees – or nearly a third – were recently tested for the virus, the energy ministry said.

It did not say how many of those tests returned positive.

Mainland China, where the new coronavirus first emerged, reported a total of 82,830 cases on Monday. China is now fighting an increased number of new cases coming from Russia.

Source: REUTERS

28, April 2020

Coronavirus Frightens Malaria Patients in Cameroon ⁰

A song urging Cameroonians not to relent in the fight against malaria blasted through speakers Saturday — World Malaria Day — at road junctions and popular neighborhoods, as well as from publicity vans driving through Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.

Dr. Daniel Etoundi of Cameroon’s public health ministry said health teams were being taken to every neighborhood to try to discourage patients from buying roadside drugs or resorting to African traditional healers for malaria treatment, because those can lead to severe health complications.

“If the product is toxic, the liver will be spoiled [destroyed]. Same with the kidney,” he said. “Most of the products that we consume are eliminated through the kidney by urine. Now, if the drug is toxic, it will spoil the kidney function.”

The Cameroon Ministry of Public Health reported that since March 5, when the first case of the coronavirus was reported in the central African state, many people with suspected cases of malaria or other diseases have refused to go to hospitals for fear they will catch COVID-19. As of Saturday, more than 1,500 cases had been confirmed in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.

But medical doctors say 90 percent of Cameroon’s 25 million people are at risk of malaria, while 41 percent have an episode each year.

Dr. Dorothy Achu, coordinator of Cameroon’s National Malaria Control Program, said people should understand that although there is much government emphasis on the dangers of COVID-19, malaria remains the nation’s major killer, especially of children.

“We are trying to sensitize health workers to protect themselves well but to continue to provide services,” as well as reassure the population “that it is not in all hospitals that we take care of COVID patients. So we just require them to protect themselves when they go to hospitals,” she said.

Education efforts

Innocent Kuisseu, sensitization team member for the prevention of malaria, said members also were educating Cameroonians about how to protect themselves from malaria by systematically using insecticide-treated mosquito bed nets and visiting hospitals when they suspect they might have malaria. He said people should not think that anyone who has malaria also has COVID-19.

“Efforts are being put in to make sure that the population is more and more aware of what should be the right treatment, to make sure that in suspicion of malaria there should be a rapid diagnostic test, to make sure that they sleep under insecticide-treated nets,” he said.

The International group Severe Malaria Observatory reports that malaria causes 22% of deaths occurring in health care facilities in Cameroon, and that 10% of deaths in children under 5 years old are linked to malaria.

Health officials in Cameroon blame the surge of malaria and COVID-19 cases on the fact that many people do not respect basic hygiene standards and don’t visit health facilities when they have early signs of either disease. They also say there are too many people who refuse to use treated mosquito bed nets.

Source: VOA

28, April 2020

COVID-19 cases in Africa hit 30,000 ⁰

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo says the number of COVID-19 cases in the WHO African Region has increased to over 30,000.

The UN’s health agency gave the update on its official twitter account @WHOAFRO on Sunday.

“Over 30,000 COVID-19 cases reported on the African continent with over 9,000 associated recoveries and 1,300 deaths recorded,’’ it said.

The WHO African Region COVID-19 dashboard showed that in sub-Saharan Africa, the South Africa suffered the most severe outbreak, while Cameroon and Ghana had more than 2, 500 confirmed cases.

The figures on the dashboard showed that South Africa, Algeria and Cameroon had continued to top the list of countries with the highest reported cases.

It showed that South Africa had 4, 361 cases and 86 deaths followed by Algeria with 3, 256 cases and 419 deaths, while Cameroon had 1,518 confirmed cases with 53 deaths.

According to the dashboard, South Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, Mauritania are countries with the lowest confirmed cases in the region.

It showed that South Sudan had the lowest confirmed cases of five reported with zero death.

Mauritania, the dashboard showed, was second country with the lowest confirmed cases with seven reported cases and one death.

Source: The News

27, April 2020

Nutritional advice during the Coronavirus Pandemic ⁰

Nutritional advice during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the first case in Cameroon of which was reported by the Ministry of Health on March 6 2020. To date, more than 800 cases have been reported in Cameroon despite the measures that were put in place by the government. Key amongst these measures were recommendations on hygiene (handwashing and/or hand sanitizing) and social distancing aimed at limiting transmission.

Other theories have been put forward as to how best to manage COVID-19, ranging from the use of pharmaceutical products like chloroquine to food supplements. For any of these to merit any serious consideration, it is important to know how the body actually reacts to viral infections. The human body generally has the appropriate mechanisms to defend itself against bacterial or viral (pathogen) attacks. The first line of defense is generally through the physical barrier provided by the skin and associated structures like dermal and nasal. If the pathogen however goes through this first line of defense into the body’s circulation, the second line of defense – the immune system immediately kicks into play, producing a variety of substances to get rid of the foreign substance which is also known as antigen. One of these substances called antibodies recognizes features of the antigen and attacks it continuously to get rid of it. The immune system’s ‘memory’ can now have the ability to produce antibodies in future if it sees the same pathogen again like in the cases for viruses that cause chickenpox or polio, destroying it before the symptoms become serious. For some other viruses like coronavirus that cause the common cold, their recognition by the immune system seems to be lost after a short while, making people vulnerable to suffering frequently from colds. Since SARS-CoV-2has only been recently discovered and presently causing havoc worldwide, it is not yet known how the immune system or the immune system’s memory is going to handle it. It is therefore important for the body to have an efficient immune system.

Nutrition plays an important role in maintaining a fully functional and efficient immune system. In this period of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is more important than ever to maintain an efficient immune system. This can be done through certain lifestyle changes as well as our choice of foods, to include foods with known properties of boosting immune function. This can be easily achieved by eating as many colors as possible through the consumption of fruits, vegetables and nuts that are readily available in Cameroon. Certain foods however stand out due to their high content of particular micronutrients with proven scientific claims. These include foods like bitterleaf (ndole), spinach, green and yellow peppers, broccoli, pawpaw and oranges which are high in Vitamin C which contributes to immune defense as well as lowers the risk of respiratory infections. Zinc also plays an important role in controlling and regulating immune function and has been shown to inhibit the replication of viruses. Zinc can be found in beans, pumpkin seeds (egusi), meat, fish, mushrooms, avocados and guavas. Vitamin D found in mushrooms, sardines, liver and eggs modulates immune response as well as helps the immune system to stay balanced.

As well as the above mentioned foods containing nutrients with proven scientific action on the immune system, the Cameroonian cuisine is generally spicy, with some of the commonly used spices containing bioactive components which are powerful antioxidants and could be beneficial to the immune system. Garlic for example is known for its immune boosting properties linked to its high sulphur content. Initial results from ongoing research with spices used in some traditional dishes from the West region of Cameroon show a lot of promise as potential immune boosters as well as antiviral agents.

Despite the above nutritional recommendations, the best way to stay healthy and SARS-CoV-2 free is by following the current WHO recommendations as well as those outlined by the Cameroon government.

*Article first published in CEFOPDIETnews, newsletter of the Professional School of Dietetics and Functional Foods(CEFOPDIET) in Yaounde

**The author is a professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at the University of Yaounde I who discovered bush mango is a therapy for obesity and is co-founder of CEFOPDIET of the J&A Oben Foundation

By Julius E. Oben

27, April 2020

US Politics: Pelosi endorses Biden as ‘voice of reason and resilience’ for president ⁰

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday endorsed Joe Biden for president, joining a list of top Democrats, who have thrown their support behind the former vice president.

“Today I am proud to endorse Joe Biden for president of the United States because he will be an extraordinary president,” said Pelosi in the pre-recorded message.

Her endorsement of the Democratic presidential candidate follows that of US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, former president Barack Obama and former vice president Al Gore, who all threw their weight behind Biden earlier this month.

In her video statement, Pelosi cited Biden’s experience in government, including his role in passing the Affordable Care Act, as evidence of his leadership qualities. She said Biden is well-positioned to lead the country amid the ongoing coronanvirus outbreak.

“As we face coronavirus, Joe has been a voice of reason and resilience, with a clear path to lead us out of this crisis,” Pelosi said in her endorsement.

A boost during pandemic campaign lull

The endorsement comes at an opportune time for Biden, who has struggled to maintain a high profile during the Covid-19 pandemic and sustain the momentum he had built up in his lightning-quick run toward becoming the Democratic nominee.

Besides current and past Democratic leaders, Biden has also won endorsements from some other key stakeholders such as Washington state Governor Jay Inslee, a prominent climate change campaigner, and the 400,000-member United Auto Workers union.

The endorsements have given Biden a series of headlines at a time when his campaign is effectively on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak, and when US President Donald Trump has dominated media attention with his combative White House briefings.

The Democrats are eager to project unity heading into the presidential race against Trump for the November 3 general elections.

In recent weeks, the more moderate Biden has made attempts to win the support of the liberal backers of Sanders and Warren.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

27, April 2020

Global COVID-19 caseload grows slowly, contagion curve flattens in Europe ⁰

As the global caseload of the COVID-19 disease increased more slowly, governments around the world are increasingly taking steps to revive their shuttered economies after weeks of pandemic lockdowns.

More than 206,544 people have lost their lives due to the respiratory disease caused by the new virus — well over half of them in Europe — and 2,971,477 others are currently infected with the virus across the globe, according to the latest data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, the contagion curve appears to have flattened in Europe, as the continent’s worst-hit nations — Italy, Spain, France, and Britain — eventually report drops in their daily tallies.

That has allowed the governments to prepare for a staged end to weeks off coronavirus lockdowns.

Spanish children get outside after 6 weeks

Spanish children were finally free to go outside on Sunday, after six weeks of living under one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns.

Under the new lockdown conditions, children under 14 are allowed to step outside of their house for one hour of supervised activity per day.

Schools still remain closed.

Spain’s Health Ministry reported the lowest daily increase in the coronavirus fatality toll in more than a month on Sunday. It registered 288 deaths, which brought the total number of fatalities to 23,190, while the overall number of cases rose to 226, 629.

The county has recorded the world’s third-highest number of deaths, after the United States and Italy.

A man chases his daughters as they play in the street, in Barcelona, Spain, on April 26, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Italy to reopen factories

Italy will also allow manufacturers, construction companies, and some wholesalers to reopen from next week, and will permit limited family visits after more than two months of a strict lockdown.

Under the revised rules, retailers will be allowed to reopen two weeks later.

Restaurants, however, will remain closed until the beginning of June.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who outlined the road map to restart activities, said on Sunday, “We will live with the virus and we will have to adopt every precaution possible.”

Health authorities reported a third consecutive daily fall in COVID-19 deaths, with 260 fatalities — the lowest number since mid-March.

With 26,644 fatalities, Italy’s death toll still remains the heaviest in Europe, along with 197, 675 confirmed cases of the viral infection.

The number of new cases has been slowing and the number of patients in intensive care has been falling steadily, according to officials.

Britain reports 413 more deaths

Britain’s daily tally was also the lowest since the end of March, as officials reported 413 deaths in 24 hours, with 4,463 new confirmed cases.

That brought the total death toll across the United Kingdom to 20,732, along with 152,840 confirmed cases.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce plans for easing lockdown restrictions as early as this week.

He is due to be back at work on Monday after spending a week in hospital due to a coronavirus infection and two weeks of recovering at Chequers, his country residence.

France reports lowest deaths in over a month

France on Sunday reported the smallest rise in deaths since March 25, with a decrease in the number of patients in intensive care.

Deaths rose by 242 to 22,856, according to figures provided by the French Health Ministry on Sunday.

The number of new cases also increased by 1,129 to 191,743.

Some businesses allowed to reopen in Switzerland

Switzerland also allowed some businesses to reopen on Monday. The country has reported a total number of 29,061 cases of COVID-19 and 1,610 deaths.

Germany detects 1,018 new cases

Germany has confirmed 1,018 new cases, bringing its total to 155,193, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases on Monday.

The death toll also rose by 110 to 5,750, the data showed.

Meanwhile, millions of Muslims across the world have begun the holy month of Ramadan under coronavirus restrictions, which ban them from large gatherings for prayers in mosques.

Saudi Arabia relaxes some curfews

Saudi Arabia has kept 24-hour lockdowns in place in the city of Mecca, but eased some curfews elsewhere on Sunday.

Outside Mecca and certain lockdown areas, curfews will be eased for eight hours during the day.

The kingdom has also allowed some economic and commercial activities to re-start from Wednesday until May 13.

With 17,522 cases of infection and 139 deaths, Saudi Arabia has the highest numbers among the six members of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, have collectively recorded almost 46,000 cases and 258 deaths.

Dubai lifts lockdown on two commercial districts

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) lifted a full lockdown on two densely-populated commercial districts in Dubai on Sunday.

Dubai, the Middle East’s business hub, already cut its 24-hour lockdown back to an eight-hour curfew on Friday.

The UAE has reported more than 10,300 cases and 76 deaths resulting from COVID-19, the second-highest count among the six-member Arab alliance.

Turkey’s death toll passes 2,800

Turkey eased a four-day curfew in 31 provinces and lifted quarantines in 177 settlements in 44 cities midnight on Sunday.

The Turkish Interior Ministry, however, said in a statement that regulations to curb the spread of the disease, such as compulsory wearing of masks and social-distancing in markets and streets would be strictly monitored over the next week.

Turkey’s confirmed cases increased by 2,357 in the past 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed on Sunday, taking the country’s tally to 110,130 — the highest total for any country outside Western Europe or the United States.

The number of deaths also increased to 2,805 after 99 people succumbed to the respiratory disease in the last 24 hours.

A total of 29,140 people in Turkey have so far recovered from COVID-19, authorities said.

A person wears a plastic water bottle with a cutout to cover her face, as she walks on a footbridge in Hong Kong, China, on January 31, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

China reports 3 new cases, no deaths

China, the first ever country to report the disease, has detected three new cases, down from 11 a day earlier, with no new deaths, the country’s health authority said on Monday.

Of the new cases, two were imported, down from five on the previous day, according to the National Health Committee.

The country has a total of 82,830 cases and 4,633 deaths.

Coronavirus keeps Muslims away from mosques across Asia

The Muslim populations in several countries across Asia have now been banned from gathering in mosques during the holy month of Ramadan.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, has closed its main mosque to worshippers, calling on people to pray at home.

The country’s Istiqlal Mosque, the biggest in South Asia, which every year drew thousands of worshippers for prayers during Ramadan, was empty on Monday due to the lockdown.

Indonesia has confirmed 8,882 cases of infection and at least 743 deaths so far.

Bangladesh also closed the gates of the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Jame Mosque in the capital, Dhaka.

Bangladesh has so far reported a total of 5,416 cases and 145 deaths.

Pakistan also closed one of its biggest mosques to people on Monday.

Police patrolled outside the Faizan-e-Madina Mosque in the city of Karachi to stop worshippers from entering the mosque.

Pakistan has reported more than 11,000 confirmed cases, along with 237 deaths.

India’s Jama Masjid in New Delhi was also deserted as only five worshippers joined an evening prayer on the first day of Ramadan.

The country’s Muslim population has lately been harassed online and across the cities over allegations that they were “deliberately” spreading the coronavirus in India.

India has reported 26,496 cases of the respiratory disease and 824 deaths.

Bangladesh’s garment factories defy lockdown

In a related development, Bangladeshi garment factories defied a nationwide lockdown to resume work.

Hundreds of factories resumed operations over the weekend in the industrial areas of Gazipur and Ashulia, just outside Dhaka.

Factories said they had been “under pressure” from big-name international brands to fulfill export orders.

They had to shut down in late March due to the outbreak.

Some 200,000 workers were likely back at work just in Ashulia, according to police spokeswoman Jane Alam.

This has raised fears that the industry’s vulnerable and largely female workforce could be exposed to the virus.

More than four million people work in thousands of garment factories across the country. Last year, Bangladesh shipped out 35 billion dollars of apparel to retailers such as H&M, Inditex, and Walmart.

Almost 2 million Australians get tracking app

In Australia, nearly two million people have downloaded a government app designed to trace close contacts of COVID-19 patients.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said 1.89 million people had downloaded the app CovidSafe as of Monday. That made only more than seven percent of the country’s population of 25.7 million. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said at least 40 percent of the population would need to download the app.

The app stores 21 days of data of the users’ contacts, and has sparked concerns about the privacy of users.

People observe social distancing as they pay their respects during the Anzac Day dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, on April 25, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Australia has recorded 83 deaths and 6,700 cases.

Some states across the country have now begun easing social distancing restrictions.

Mexico removes almost all refugees from facilities

Mexico, through which many refugees travel to reach the United States, has deported most of the refugees back to their home countries over the past five weeks.

The country’s National Migration Institute (INM) said that it had been removing refugees from its 65 facilities, which held 3,759 people last month.

Authorities have returned 3,653 refugees to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador by road and air. Only 106 people remain in government refugee centers.

Experts say the move is being taken in line with Mexico’s policy of keeping the number of refugees in check under pressure from US President Donald Trump. The INM, however, said the refugees were being returned in order to comply with health and safety guidelines to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Health officials have reported 13,842 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,305 deaths in Mexico.

Source: Presstv

27, April 2020

Yaounde alive with conspiracy theories on Paul Biya’s health ⁰

The meeting President Paul Biya granted to the French ambassador to Cameroon last Thursday continues to captivate the attention of oppositionists from the Yaoundé regime, who dispute that it ever took place. Fuelled by rumours and conspiracy theories, the country is caught up in a political thriller-like storyline as a health crisis looms in the background.

The meeting between Paul Biya and the Ambassador of France to Cameroon Christophe Guilhou was supposed to answer questions surrounding the Cameroonian president’s health status and quiet rumours, with some people even maintaining that he was dead. However, the Etoudi Palace resident’s reappearance on the small screen after not being seen in public since 11 March, when Cameroon had merely two cases of COVID-19, hardly reassured sceptics.

Nevertheless, Ambassador Guilhou said that his meeting on Thursday 14 April was with a “still alert” Biya.

“We had a very long discussion,” he added in a brief statement after leaving the presidential palace, during which he also brought up issues relating to French-Cameroonian cooperation, the focus of his conversation with Biya.

Ultimatums and persistent rumours

On Wednesday, the day before the meeting, Maurice Kamto, a figure who has condemned the president’s silence on several occasions, caused a media uproar when he announced that he had asked the National Assembly to “establish the vacancy of the presidential office.”

The move was the climax of a series of ultimatums declared by the dissident of Cameroon’s head of state whose “extended and unexplained absence” has been described as “unacceptable” by the leader of the Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC).

Despite Biya’s resurfacing (it is noteworthy that he has still not spoken about the COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon), rumours continue to shake up the public arena. Images from the meeting have not dispelled doubt among the most ardent sceptics. On social media, some people are quick to call the video “fake.”

Franklin Nyamsi, a Cameroonian professor based in France, even claims that the communications department of the Embassy of France in Yaoundé – which he asserts he contacted – “had no knowledge of such a meeting” and that Guilhou “likely went to the meeting without informing his own department.”

Since then, Nyamsi has initiated a petition calling for the departure of the French ambassador to Cameroon on the grounds of “serious interference and flagrant manipulation of public opinion.”

To date, 9,700 people have signed the petition. However, off the record, a source within the Embassy of France denies that Nyamsi ever tried to contact the embassy.

Reversal of position

In recent days, a reversal of position has occurred. The same opposition groups that once praised Emmanuel Macron’s comments on Cameroon’s socio-political crisis during a video recorded on the sidelines of his appearance at the Paris Agricultural Show, are now criticising France’s position.

On the other hand, the party in power in Yaoundé, which had become vocal after the French president’s comments, is now defending Paris as its ambassador contends with an onslaught of criticism over the meeting.

“The offensive remarks and inept conduct of certain comrades should in no case discourage our friends,” said Grégoire Owona, Secretary General of the ruling Rassemblement démocratique du Peuple Camerounais (RDPC) party.

Complete the form for your free download of The Africa Report’s special feature “The Sahel trap”. Get your free PDF by completing the following form.

In light of the controversy, Guilhou broached the subject on Sunday during a political programme broadcast on national television. During the interview, the French ambassador was careful to downplay his positions, particularly regarding the Cameroonian president’s “alertness.”

“The media asked me how President Biya seemed and I responded that he was the same as he had been during previous meetings,” he said, without elaborating any further on the issue.

Sceptics are still not convinced.

“We’re concerned that Guilhou went along with a sick farce,” said Christian Penda Ekoka, an economist close to Kamto.

At a time when Cameroon has crossed the threshold of 1,000 COVID-19 patients, the health crisis underway in the sub-Saharan African country with the second largest number of infections still seems to be taking a back seat to the endless political sparring matches taking place in the public arena.

Culled from The Africa Report

27, April 2020

3 officials kidnapped in Southern Cameroons ⁰

Three government officials were abducted Friday night in Boyo division of Northwest, one of the two troubled Anglophone regions of Cameroon, local authorities said Saturday.

A Court registrar of Boyo High Court, an official of election management body Elections Cameroon (Elecam), and a municipal councillor of ruling Cameroon’s People Democratic Movement (CPDM), were kidnapped by gunmen “as they were going about their normal activities”, according to security sources who asked not to be named.

Local police said a search and rescue mission of the hostages is underway.

Armed separatists have intensified attacks on officials who participated in Feb. 9 legislative and municipal elections in Cameroon, saying they disrespected their order to boycott the elections, according to media reports.

Since 2017, armed separatists have been fighting to create an independent nation in the two Anglophone regions of the largely French-speaking Cameroon.

Source: Xinhuanet